InterDistrict Benefits Program
by Peep295
Summary: Collecting the 30 smartest people in Panem, the Capitol ensures the 75th Hunger Games are interesting. Told from the perspective of all 30 tributes.
1. Chapter 1: Another Story

-Kate-

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

A voice, booming across the sky, announced with a joyous tone:

The Games will commence in 3...

I glanced around. 28 other teenagers readied themselves, staring at their goal. The circle that encompassed each of them, surrounding them like a halo, trapped them within the arena.

"I just want to leave"

I just wanted to leave. They had promised us glory, riches...happiness. Then again, they do that once a year. 'They' caused a ruckus last year. Trying to outwit the Gamemakers, you were torn between thinking they were idiots or heroes. In the end, the baton of punishment had been passed to the next year.

The Districts were beginning to swirl in protest. As the inferno grew higher, the Capitol knew they needed something to douse the flames of unrest. It seemed like appeasement; they had overturned a new leaf, decided to give back to the Districts. The mandatory airing of the President's broadcast was, for once, welcome.

"We at the Capitol want to watch the Districts continue to grow and prosper, despite some troublesome individuals. As of tomorrow, we are beginning our new initiative: the Inter-district Benefit program. A test will be administered, then after a short processing time, the smartest 30 citizens, age 12-17, will be recognized. To incentivize the lazier of you, the winner will be granted a place in the capitol, riches and food for your family, and fame beyond your wildest dreams. May the odds be ever in your favor!"

The Game will commence in 2...

My parents told me to just be realistic and find a job in the city.

"Kate, we are just being realistic here. Why try?"

I tried harder on this than anything I had ever tried before. A chance to escape, a chance to leave my family to find a better life. I wouldn't even feel guilty. I could just send them food and money. I wouldn't feel guilty at all.

After hours of studying, writing, and long sleepless nights, it was finally the day of the Inter-district Benefits test. They presented me with a contract, and I signed it. Probably an integrity thing, telling me not to cheat. The actual IB test seemed to take no time at all. A few hours, and I left, worrying about all the wrong answers. I was sure I wouldn't be one of the smartest.

It took a long month for the results to come. So, in the meantime, I read. Treasuring every story, every person, I simply read, living in a world different then mine. Fiction was a commodity in our library. After exhausting the few that there were, I dove into the endless reminders of the Capitol's dominance: the Hunger Games archive. From each book gushed the blood of a friend, a family member, a loved one. From each page spouted the tears that came from lose, separations, and connections ripped apart. Each word told the end of the story: death.

I was happy that I wouldn't have to deal with that.

The results came in. I was one of the 30 smartest people in the whole world! Trying to keep it all in was too much, and I let out a small squeal. This was it; I could finally leave this District and do whatever I wanted in the Capitol! I rushed over to a television, the president was already dishing out his praise.

"We are glad to congratulate those 30, who have excelled past their peers, and are among the smartest members of their respective Districts. These are their Districts' children, their leaders, their future. So congratulations to all of you..."

Endless thoughts of what would happen to me fired throughout my brain.

"for being chosen for the 75th annual Hunger Games."

The smile stayed on my face. What? I stared, eyes empty. What?

"You eagerly took this test knowing where you would be going; for this you should be praised. This was clearly written within the terms and condition of the contract you signed. Advisors will be chosen and we will see you in the Capitol in just a few days."

I cried. I ran home and cried. The one thing I thought I had in my life, gone. The next days blurred together in a mess of tears. My parents told me to stiffen up and be stronger, but every time the stories of pain and hunger flashed in my head. Every day I was closer to the torment that seemed so distant from me when I read about it in books. I sat in my room in the Capitol, not making friends, not scouting out the competition, just sitting.

My advisors had been chosen. Hoffman told me I should eat, that I would need it in the following days. He told me I should train if I wanted a chance in this. I didn't want to eat. I didn't want to do things. I just wanted to leave.

The Game will commence in 1...

I look around me. Some people looked eager, some nervous, some terrified; each of them bound by a ring. I looked at a girl next to me, her eyes sharper than me. Her ginger hair covered her face, she ignored it -intent on reaching the goal. On the other side, another girl was not as ready. She was shrunk to the center of her circle. I knew she wouldn't be able to cope with what she would have to face.

Stories flashed in my mind. A story about a dapper boy falling in love and having to kill his beloved. A story of a girl begging for mercy from her best friend. A story of a little kid who dropped her memento, setting off mines around the circle.

That's it. It finally all makes sense. I know the sacrifice I need to make to save them. I know how I can prevent most of the suffering that will take place.

The Games will now...

Arms outstretched, I let myself fall forward, escaping this infernal ring of hell. The grass outside the circle came closer to my face. I guess, now I'll be just another story.


	2. Chapter 2: Feels Heavy

-Jill-

"The hell-?"

"What the-?"

"Son of a -"

"My leg!"

"Shit!"

The roar another explosion pounded my ears inward.

Silence

My hair fell against my cheek as I lost consciousness.

-Eva-

Disoriented, I tried to regain my footing. The explosion sent me a few feet backwards. The girl across from me didn't have my luck; she lied motionless, the sides of her head dripping with red.

"I have to get something."

The one thing I had, my glasses, had flown into the dirt some ways away. My feet floundered, failing to support me. I collapsed to the ground, hair angrily attacking my vision. Brushing it out of the way, I spotted a blood red backpack placed prominently on the center of the pile. Stumbling upwards, my feet finally had traction, and I rushed the center.

Twenty feet away the cornucopia stood, tantalizing. Behind me, in front on me, all around me were groans of pains, screams of terror, and ambient dialogue. Giddiness, more from the dizziness than my success, welled up within me. I was the first one to this fountain of wealth.

I climbed over a variety of random objects, probably useful but not my goal. Scrambling up the boxes of food, I snagged the small crimson backpack. Grasping my prize, I turned around, only to feel a knife in my neck.

-Danielle-

I twirled the knife in my hand. I didn't have time to feel bad, but I couldn't help but pause as Eva dropped to the ground. I hadn't memorize many names, but that girl seemed to be nice. I slid the red backpack off her arms; if she wanted it so badly, it must have something good in it. It felt like it was full of something.

The chaos was beginning to subside. The last of the dominoes of explosions fell, and people were either running in another direction, dead, or running directly to the place I stood.

I gripped my knife. "I need to get out of here."

Leaping down from the shiny metal structure, I landed flat footed. As I shook the tingling pain from my feet, I adjusted the backpack around one arm. One second; one simple second was all one girl needed to cross the fifty foot range. A flurry of curly brown hair ran up to me, brandishing a large mace.

There was no hesitation in her step. She was determined, way beyond my faltering moves. While I knew I had some skills with this knife, she caught me by surprised. I could only begin to back up against the metal fortress when she swung. Inelegant, but it worked. The slight bristles of pain from my feet paled in comparison to the flame burning through my leg. I jabbed a few times, but cooking requires less jabbing and more precise slicing. Unfortunately, the situation didn't oblige my skills.

I put everything I had into one last lunge forward.

I missed.

The last thing I saw was the stark reflection of my eye in the bloodied knife-it reflected back a well of sadness.

—-—

-Miranda-

"I'm sorry, but I kinda need something like this." I scooped up the backpack from her arm; it weighed down in my arms more than I was prepared for. I thought about taking a look inside before deciding it would be smarter to wait.

I heard the trampling of feet behind me, giving me a fair warning to leave. Large pine trees towered about 100 feet from where I stood. If I can just get there, I can lose them in the woods. My foot slides against the dirt, and I power off towards the trees

Colours began to blend together. Three layers fill my eyes. The rich earthly brown, sprinkled with the lines of green blades blurred with the crackled bark of the pine. The specks of green on the foreground gathered themselves into a fuse of moss. As the line is traced upward into the trees, the snake explodes into a burst of emerald spikes, decorating the view. The bright aqua of the sky drowns out the green until it fades in the white of the clouds. At least the Gamemakers can create a pretty piece of work.

A shout shattered the calm of my thoughts. "Where do you think you are going, Miranda?"

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit." My feet stumbled beneath me in surprise.

A voice, seared with vengeance called behind me. "I liked Danielle, she wouldn't hurt anyone. She didn't want to hurt anyone. You caught her completely off guard."

I didn't dare look back, but settled to yell at the trees for this girl behind me to hear."Are you crazy? She stabbed that one girl behind her back in cold blood."

"Shut up, Miranda, nobody asked." Apparently she wasn't to be reasoned with.

Twenty feet away lied the safe forest, but each moment this crazy-girl kept growing nearer. The red pack seemed to weigh far more than it should. I got this pack though, and I need to keep it. What would be the point if I just abandoned it after all this work?

She was getting closer. Shit.

I felt a force stopping me in my tracks as I was rubber-banded backwards. The dumb girl caught the handle of this bag that I clung to. I wheeled around readying the mace I held in my hand. She won't beat me.

An Asian girl stared back at me with a sharp face that didn't reflect the anger in her eyes. In her hand, a small pocket knife. Much smaller than the other one I dealt with already. This should be easy.

I adjusted the pack. I ran my hand up the mace, feeling the sharp metal.

She stared through my eyes. "I'm going to kill you. This is just going to happen. Deal with it." She spoke in a flat voice. Was it laced with slight derision?

"I don't really think so." Not exactly my strong suit, I lugged the bludgeon at her thin legs, hoping to at least off set her balance. She simply sidestepped.

"Hahahahaha!" She attempted to make a few strikes against my arms, but her blade was way too small to make any difference. My mace finally found its contact. While not a direct hit, a resounding thump filled my happy ears.

Like a surprised cat, she leapt backward, clasping her side. With the look I was getting from her, I half expected her to start hissing at me. She looked in severe pain. I could probably leave now, without her following. I stared at her and began to back away slowly. Her eyes lit up with a mischievous gleam.

That was when she decided to throw that sharp, tiny blade.

—-—

-Mia-

I pulled the knife out of the last of the wounds I made. I flicked the red liquid off the small blade. A pang of guilt scratched my heart, but I put it out of my mind, at least for now. I took the bloody red pack; it felt way heavier then it looked.


	3. Chapter 3: Desho?

-Chau and Evan-

Making no attempt to smother the sounds under his feet, Chau continued to walk over the crackling pine needles. Each step echoed in the silence of the forest, broadcasting our location to anyone within 300 yards.

"Hey, Chau," I called over to that idiot in front of me.

"Nope." He didn't even look at me.

If you didn't know him that well, you would think that he was mad. I guess he is doing it to entertain himself. "If you keep strutting around without at least making an effort to be quiet, you're going to get us killed."

"If you keep talking around then your face." Chau, I hope you know that that makes no sense.

"We should probably make camp here for tonight." I surveyed the area around us. Ideally, I would like more foliage to cover us, but I suppose this will do. As I pulled out the blanket Chau had in his backpack, I whispered to him. "Did you happen to see the movie the Capitol made of the Hunger Games last year?"

"Yeah, it was pretty well made, I think," Chau said in a voice way too loud for the situation.

I slapped him in the back of the head. "Oi, idiot. Again, we're in the middle of a giant murder game thing, you should probably shut your face." His mouth opened like he was about to yell just to piss me off, but he decided against it.

"I enjoyed the main characters. Their acting was convincing. Well except when the girl was trying to express any emotion besides grim determination. It made her look like she was hurting on the inside."

I looked over my glasses. "So you think they were acting through it all?"

"They did a good job at condensing all of the Hunger Games into one movie." Chau, why you no answer my questions? "There was a lot of information there. District 12 didn't look exactly like I thought, but I guess that's just how it is."

I spread out the blanket in front of us. "I enjoyed some of the focus at we got on some of the minor tributes. It was an interesting look at some of the more minor characters. Plus, every scene with Caesar Flickerman was just great. I guess I really only have one complaint."

Chau pulled out a package of food. He ripped open the plastic. "The stupid shaky cam?" He offered me the bag.

I took one of the little pancakes inside. After taking a bite, I covered my mouth with my hand so I could talk. "Oh my God, yes. Did they really have to do that all the time? I mean, I was sort of okay with it in the action scenes, even though you couldn't tell what was going on, but was it really necessary to have the camera have a constant seizure while filming random objects?" At this point in the conversation, my voice had risen to just as loud Chau's.

Chau put up his hands and shook his head. "I dunno. It was better than expected at least."

"Yeah, I guess." Nothing more to say. I tied the medical kit and parachute package in a tight bundle and tucked it into the tree above us. Chau glanced over my things; his stuff was strewn over the camp site.

"When did you get that?" He motioned to the parachute.

"A few minutes after the start, right before we met up again."

He crumpled the empty plastic and tossed it into the distance. Idiot. "Anything interesting?" His voice was still too loud for my liking.

I grinned at him, though in the darkness I'm not sure how much he could see my face. "Interesting?" I paused to think, "Yes, interesting."

"What is it?"

"My advisor is this guy named Cassady." My brain flicked through memories of long lectures that didn't really make sense, through which I just nodded, baffled. "He is actually pretty fast, and he can climb surprisingly high, but I think that he had to take a few blows to the head to win his Hunger Games, if you know what I mean."

Chau nodded, feigning a serious look. "Okay, okay, very good."

"All that was in it was a sponge, a needle and thread, and a note. It read: 'Does this make sense?' No, no this does not make sense."

Chau laughed. "Well, now you have a sponge. Good for you."

We both grinned at each other. The moment vanished as we heard a crack ten yards to our right.

—-—

-Patrick-

Dang, they were loud together. 300 yards away, and I could hear them almost yelling at each other. I pulled my black jacket closer to me. Despite what the judges thought, I'm actually pretty sneaky. I crept closer, each step carefully placed to avoid detection.

What weapon did I want to use here? I ran all the way in the cornucopia and nicked one of the plumper bags, so I had plenty of options. I had a boomerang, but honestly, that was pretty useless. Though thankful of the grappling hook so I could climb onto trees, the best it can do is wack people of the side of their head. There were a variety of specialty shaped throwing knives, but that wasn't very practical in the darkness that filled the gap between us. Yet, I probably could get close enough to do a quick stab in the back. All I have to do is...

Beneath my feet, the sharp crack of a branch breaking stopped my planning.

Dammit.

"Oi, the hell do you think you're doing?"

Some nerdy looking kid held a sharpened stick, uncomfortably close to my face. The smug look of superiority shone through his thin rimmed glasses. I slide my hand to the knife at my side. A quick jab, and I could take that face right off him. I gripped the handle and readied my hand to slice. He reared back to strike.

"Oh hello. How are you?" A polite voice appeared out of nowhere. A round Asian face popped out behind the first kid. The first kid lowered his stick. Now was the perfect time to strike.

"Hi, I'm Austin Chau. Everybody calls me Chau. What's your name?"

I let go of my knife. "Um, hi. I'm Patrick."

"Hello Patrick, nice to meet you." Baffled, I stared at each of them in turn. The Asian one, Chau apparently, stared back at me with a unapologetic smile. The other kid glared at him sorely. Chau spoke again. "This is Evan."

Evan flashed me a small wave and began furiously whispering to Chau. I stood there awkwardly. I scratched my legs as they argued. I could only make out snippets of the conversation.

"Why do you need him? You have... It's just going to be trouble. Okay, but... I lost. What..."

Thirty seconds later, and they both looked back at me.

"Please, Evan. I will take care of him and make sure he is fed and walk him everyday. Please, please, please!" I wasn't sure to be offended or honored.

Evan's palm went directly into his face. "Fine. Why would you listen to me, anyways?" He stomped off to the campsite.

Chau came up and clasped my back. He pointed the other forward. "I'm sure we'll get along just fine!"

What just happened?

—-—

I had to guess Patrick was sleeping at this point; it had been a few hours.

"Chau?"

"Hmm?" He didn't look my way.

"You're going to have to kill someone eventually." I paused. "You can't win the games by being friends with everyone. You know that. Right?"

He didn't answer my question.


	4. Chapter 4: Thanks for the Help

-Colin-

With a slice more piercing than any tribute, the wind stabbed me through the thin jacket.

"Fricken cold," I mumbled to myself, popping the collar on the jacket as I sat down.

I crumpled some dead leaves at the bottom of the pile of sticks stacked (quite expertly in my own opinion) at my feet. With frozen fingers stumbling to grab one of the matches in my case, I listened through the chill air around me. Silence: a nice change from the constant noise of District 10's menagerie of livestock. The match engulfed the leaves (and my grateful fingers) in warmth. Soon enough, a small fire started to take. I stepped back to look at my work. "Not bad." I went closer to blow on the growing embers.

The loudspeakers began blaring a jaunty tune.

"Holy shit." I grabbed the tree behind me to stop myself from falling into the fire. The anthem picked up pace as I remembered that the pictures of the dead tributes were shown at the end of the day in a glorified PowerPoint presentation. Enjoying the warmth of the fire, I sat back; my arms supporting me as I stared at the sky.

I tried to memorize as many names as possible before this dumb thing started so I could place a name to most of the faces that flashed by. I read the list out loud to myself.

"District 1." Two brunette girls lit up the sky. "Kamila? I thought she was going to go a lot further. The other one is...Lindsay, I think. Well, there goes half of the careers

"District 4. Danielle. Aww that makes me sad. She seemed nice. All girls so far.

"District 5. Hey, it's that crazy girl who blew herself up. I'm glad that they had girls on one half and boys on the other. She didn't give anyone around her chance.

"District 6. Zoë. At least it was quick. Eva too.

"District 9." Curly brown hair filled the sky box. Her name danced on the tip of my tongue. "Miranda, I think.

"District 10. Jill." The slide show finished, and the anthem faded out. Wow, that's a lot of deaths. All of them girls. I guess it's up to the guys to win this.

Fighting a lost cause against the air, the fire crackled angrily. Taking my eyes of the night sky, I rubbed my hands together and put them towards the fire. At least, I'm warm. The wind blew against the fire which flickered and died out. Damn.

"Meow."

What the hell? Are there cats in the arena? I think you can eat cats. I mean, at this point, I would eat worse things than a cat.

"Meow!"

Okay, time to murder a cat. I grabbed a knife out of pocket. Finally, I could get something to eat. I walked into the meowing bush.

—-—

-Matt-

"Well that was easy."

The cannon boomed, shattering the fragile silence. I looked up at the sky above us.  
>"Hmm from District 10, eh? Figures" I swung my spear behind my head and rested my arms on each side.<p>

"Hey, don't strut along like you did all the work." Zach sheathed his sword and caught up to me.

"I did come up with that brilliant plan." I lead them back to the Cornucopia.

Rachel piped up behind Zach, "You meowed in a bush."

"Hey," I put on a serious face, "I got the job done."

The 12 spoke up from the back. "Yeah, whatever. Zach, are we going to do any more hunting or can we go to bed?"

Zach shrugged, "I dunno. I guess we'll head back for now."

"Yeah, I think we just need some sleep, ya know? That'll set me all right" I can't believe Zach agreed to invite not only that 12, but this 11 too. We trained for our first 17 years for this moment, and I won't have it ruined by inexperience.

Trimming the overgrowth of bushes, Zach cut a path to the clearing. "Marcus, you'll take the first shift on watch. Matt, you'll take the next one. Shelby, Rachel, and I will sleep until morning." At least we secured the Cornucopia. The large wicker structure had been gutted of its previous contents; each bag inspected one-by-one for food and supplies, and sorted into groups. I grabbed an apple from the food pile.

"Wake us up if you see anything, Marcus. I'm heading to bed." Zach turned, leaving me alone with Rachel and the others.

"Goodnight." Rachel found an insolated sleeping bag with the 12 following suit soon after.

"Doncha want to go to bed too?" Face relaxed, Marcus beamed at me.

I directed the glare of disgust at the ground instead. Masking the annoyance, I smiled back at him. "Naw, I would only get a few hours of sleep anyways. I might as well stay up with you."

"Very nice, man." He settled himself on the ground. "So, how's it happening?"

"Well, I'm currently in an arena where I have to brutally murder kids my age until only one survives, haunted by the ghosts of the fallen, destined to live a life from a bottle of whiskey."

"Sooooo?"

"So, never better. Really just great." I rubbed my eyes. Not from pain, but to just keep them from rolling out of their sockets.

"Sweet. Very nice. I'm doing pretty good. Beats starving in the District, you know?"

I toyed with the apple, still pristine in my hand. "Here, want this apple? I'm not gonna eat it." Arm outstretched to maintain distance, I offered him the fruit.

"Oh, hey. Don't mind if I do." Lifting the apple from my palm, he took a bite of it. "Mmmm juicy."

I stared at my empty hand for a second, before I coiled my fingers back inward. "You probably have tons of fruit and food, huh?"

"What?" He looked at me like I just asked him how many pet piranhas he had. "Naw. They'd shoot us if we try to eat any of the food."

"But you're the agriculture District. You should have tons of food."

"Yeah, but not for us." He laughed and stared into the darkness. Blowing against us, the wind reminded us that everyone else must be freezing at this point at night. Looking towards the sky, I couldn't tell if the stars were actually real or just carefully crafted fakes.

The wind, taking a break from battering us, slowed to a soft breeze. In its place, a soft buzzing began to fill the air.

"What the hell it that?" Marcus stared to our left at the tree line. "Let's go check it out." He trotted off towards the noise. I followed after.

—-—

-Shelby-

This one sleeping bag costs more than my entire house. I traced the thread on the inside of the bag, noticing the precision and uniformity of a machine. Even the best seamstresses would have trouble replicating this, even if we did have all the materials to make it. A rustle took me out of my observations. I grasped for the sword at my side.

"Relax 12, it's just me." I didn't let go of my sword. "It's my turn for the watch shift; I just woke up."

"Where's Marcus?" Coming out of the warm cocoon, I kept my blade hidden from his view.

The blonde haired boy stared unblinkingly into my eyes. "How would I know? He's probably watching for people in the night, you know, it being a night watch shift and all."

I resisted all the urges I had to punch him in his gut. "Whatever, go ahead and go then."

"I didn't realize I needed your permission, but thank you, madam," he added as he bowed and left. I'm going to be so happy when I get to kill you.

Staring at him as walked off, I accepted the fact that I wasn't going to get any sleep tonight.

—-—

-Marcus-

"Alrighty, Marcus, I got the jar from camp." Coming out of the darkness, Matt held up a small glass container.

"Are you sure about this? They seem sorta angry." I glanced at the nest, buzzing with anxiety.

"It'll be okay. Anyways, this will be great. These tracker jackers will be so useful. It's simple. All you have to do is capture a few in this container and then we can throw a grenade of wasps at anyone who messes with us. Foolproof really." Matt handed me the jar and pointed at the nest. "Just climb up there and coax a few in here."

I lifted the jar out of his hand. "Can't you do it?"

He gave me a serious look. "Hey, you're the one from District 11. You deal with these all the time."

"And I know that they aren't a happy bunch of critters. Can't I at least wait until morning?"

"Come on, Marcus. They will be awake and swarming by then. Just get up there and do it already. It'll be fine, trust me."

"If you say so man." He stared at me as I began to scale the pine tree. The buzz was muted, but a few of the wasps trailed about lazily. One landed on a twig near the jar. Inch by inch, I swooped it up. "Got one." I whispered downward.

"Great, now just a few more," he yelled from the base. He looked like he was fiddling with something in his hand.

Looking in terror, I noticed one land on my arm. I flicked it away before it took its chance to sting. I saw last years games; these guys shouldn't be messed with. I scrapped around a bit and managed to get a good dozen. The hive started to notice the missing soldiers. "Okay, I'm getting down from here, man."

"Just toss down the jar; it'll be easier for you to climb down." Taking no time to think about it, I threw the glass into his hand.

"Great, great, you did great." He admired the jar in his hand. "Well, time to go."

"Yeah, just let me get down and..."

"I got everything I need. Bye Marcus. Thanks for the help." Matt tossed a rock up in the air. I followed the arc with my eyes. It found its target on he side of the nest. A one second delay, and it unleashed the full fury of the swarm.

-Zach-

The deafening boom of the cannon broke the calm for the second time tonight. I sprang from the cot.

"Rachel, Matt, Shelby, Marcus, are you guys all right?" My hair whipped back and forth as my head spun around. Shelby sat up waving her sword around and Rachel popped out of her bag. In the distance, Matt was running towards us. Three of the four.

Matt shouted, voice raising as he grew nearer. "Guys, guys. Something bad happened!"

I ran up to him. "What? Where's Marcus?"

Matt looked down at his feet. "I found him dead when I went to take the next watch shift. Tracker jackers got him."

"Damn." As I looked up from the ground, I could see the small of gleam of glass in Matt's hand. "What's that?"

"It's nothing." He pocketed it. "It's nothing at all."


	5. Chapter 5: You're in the Dark

Chapter 5: "He's in the Dark"

-Jon-

Two days. I've made it two days. Two long days filled with blood splatter on your face, screams ringing in the night, the dry taste of mud in the water, the smell of fresh pine, and holding on to what matters most. I've lived two days through this.

"Not bad", I thought to myself, approvingly.

I stretched my right arm across my body, keeping the point of the short sword in my left hand far away from any of my squishy parts. Yawning, my free hand pulled out a small water container from my backpack. I knew it was pretty much empty, but I hoped that eventually it would refill itself out of mercy. The small scraping of aluminum resonated as I stared down the opening.

Inside, a fine dust lined the walls of the once filled container. I held on to the memory of gulping down the bottle's humble contents. Despite the gritty crumbs of dirt scraping across my tongue, the cool drink filled me with a sense of security after the chaos of the Cornucopia. Only seconds after did I consider the possibility of the Gamemakers pre-lacing the water with a poison. I threw it out of mind. It tasted awful enough to seem like a lame attempt to get some sort of "hilarious" spit-take for the Capitol sheep to laugh at.

The ground below me turned from the soft padding of shoes against rocks to an alternating squish and shlop of mud clinging on to my shoes. Minuscule in size, a trail of water dripped from a mud puddle nestled between the rocks into the ground below me. Resigning to dirty drinking once again, I lowered my bottle into the purest sampling I could find. Trickling in from the tiny brook, the water, soiled with dirt, filled my compact water bottle. Wiping the rim, I brought the bottle to my mouth and took a small sip. It'd probably be better to save it this time, if I want to last.

When I finished twisting the cap shut, I unzipped the front pocket of my backpack. The small gleam of metal peaked out from the bottom of the darkness. Depositing the bottle into the pack's pocket, I pulled out the small necklace. Each section of the chain flowed through my hands; at the center a small heart piece dangled. I ran my thumb across the face of the heart. Who does this belong to?

The pain in my brow made me realize that I had been squinting to compensate for the light.

"Are they just screwing with us, or did it really get dark this fast?" The shadows cast behind me began to bleed into the encroaching darkness. Knees popping as I stood, I studied my options. To my right, a rocky clearing lay, inviting everyone to find me in the open, defenseless. To my left, a thick forest stood, densely pack with ground foliage and low hanging branches, further solidifying the night.

I cursed my luck; (or more likely) the luck that had been made for me. Choosing, hopefully, the lesser of two evils, I head off into the forest, trying to minimize the sounds of leaves slapping against my leg.

What I think was an hour later passed and everything look just the same as it did five minutes in. I ran my thumb over the necklace in nervousness. I could barely see the tips of my fingers, much less the necklace, but I felt all the way from the heart pendant to the end-where the necklace suddenly ended in a break. It's was probably ripped from its owner; each left alone in these stupid games. I still felt bad just picking the thing up off the ground in the mess at the Cornucopia, but it's better than losing it completely.

I shook my head. Needing to be distracted from this and my boredom, I watched at my surroundings, hoping for something interesting.

Tree. Black. Tree. Dirt. Fern. Tree. Dark. Branch. Leaf. Oh hey look, a tree!

Well, that didn't help.

Piercing the silence, a jaunty tune played from above, muffled slightly by the plants around me. Instinctively, I looked up towards the sky, only to be greeted by a face full of branch.

Ow. I tried to maneuver my vision around the branches, but leaves smothered everything. A blue hue of projected light shone through, taunting me. The crescendo of the music hit, and began to slowly fade out, leaving me with no more information than I started with. Silence filled the vacuum that the music had left. I sighed.

"I think I may have heard a few cannon shots earlier today so at least I know that much." I gripped the small chain in my hand; I had some sort of feeling that its owner may have been in today's list. Despite knowing, if not someone else, I would have to deal with this person, it still felt bad.

I curled the chain around my hand, ready to put it in my pocket, when the soft crunch of leaves twenty feet away traveled to my ears.

"Come at me bro," I whispered to myself. I stood motionless, sword ready, opening my ears to more sounds. Ten seconds. Thirty seconds. A minute. Two. Five. Nothing happened. "The hell? Must have been a squirrel or something, I guess."

I relaxed my shoulders. I was confident that this forest is too thick to move sneakily through at any rate. A branch snapped and crunched behind me. I twirled around, swinging my sword. The sword swung through the darkness, then suddenly stopped. A wave of vibrations rippled up my arm. My eyes shot upward. A huge shadow towered over me.

I tried to yank the sword away, but this thing cemented the blade in its grip. My focus darted back and forth from the stuck sword, and the thing that held it. An arm swung a bludgeon toward my head. In order to duck far enough to avoid the hit, I had to let go. Releasing my hands from the only tool I had, I shot backwards. A resounding crunch filled the space where my head once was. I scrambled onto my feet and, panting harshly, I took off.

Splintering wood and cracked my twigs chased me as I fled. Each noise amplified by the night, I kept running in any direction, just away from the sound. My dry tongue, stuck to the bottom of my mouth, grew worse with each breath. Leaves and branches slapped my face, while roots and rocks clawed at my legs. I tried to ignore the pain. I still had no idea what that thing was, but I knew it was fast enough to circle me and strong enough to rip my weapon from me.

I realized that the sound had died down. "I think," I panted, "it's gone for now." A drop of blood crept through my fingers. I pulled my hand up to my face. Trails of blood appeared where the chain had been squeezed into my flesh. I wiped the blood across my shirt and polished the heart pendent. I couldn't tell if it was getting cleaner or not.

The calm broke again, as noise surrounded me. Too dark to see the sources, I dove in the one direction that held silence. I made it ten steps before a force shoved me backwards. I needed to keep moving away.

Distant, almost as if in another body, I could hear the sound of bone snapping as a force broke through my arm. I shoved the shadow that caused this, to the side and stumbled forward.

I grasped my failing arm, strangely empty of the searing pain I thought would come. I limped forward, legs bearing the fear that weld within me. Thirsty and tired, my pace grew exponentially slower the farther I walked.

From the relatively quiet sounds of footsteps, incoherent screams of horror and anguish cried out behind me as I continued. The screams died off as I got farther.

Pain welled up within me, building in fury as I dragged myself away. The pain burst from my lips. "What the hell is going on?" I yelled into the night behind me, hoping that it would not answer my question.

Instead, this summoned a glee filled laugh ahead of me.

"Hahahahahaha!"

Weaponless and defenseless, I still went forward; I had to figure out what this new thing was. The cat-like laugh grew silent as I grew closer. Ambling forward, the shuffling sound told me she was keeping her distance. I needed something to swing. I bent down and dragged my fingers across the ground, hoping to find a sharp stick or a solid branch.

The granules of rock and dirt scrapped against my skin, but this rough plane was interrupted the feeling of softness. For a half of a second, I had the chance to question why there would be a human softness here on the dirt.

Once that time was up, a knife dug into my chest. The once giddy voice in front me screamed out in surprised and scampered away. A hand removed the knife from my heart. Blacking out, I felt the coarse, dirty ground for the last time.


	6. Chapter 6: Enlightened?

-David-

"...thusly by determining not the social status of its citizens, but the future economic potential of the Capitol itself, one can see the negative outcome of this current administration."

The large blond one didn't stop talking since yesterday. The small blonde one popped up from the back. "Why do you think that?"

"Well Remington, the current economic system is not only unsustainable, but there is a fundamental lack of socio-economic mobility, with the Bourgeoisie having 98% of the wealth. I'm not necessarily advocating full scale revolution, but if we simply gather the working class Proletariat as one and strike, we can create a fully classless society."

As he talks, his walks with his back straight and hands punctuating every sentence.

Eric injected into the rant, "I don't think you should be talking about this on national television."

"Symptoms of a larger problem! And anyways, I'll be fine. I can't be broken by their brain washing techniques." I think Andrew may already be crazy without mind control.

Remington straightened his glasses. "Why do you think you're so impervious, Andrew?"

"Oh, I know what they do to you. They brain wash you into becoming a person that is completely opposite of your previous character. Everything that you ever done will make no sense to how you are acting. It can only be cured by the power of love."

"Is that really how it works?"

"No, that would be dumb."

"Yeah, that would be dumb," Eric said as he sheathed his sword and pull out an apple from the pack. "Want one, Remington?" He said as he held out the apple.

Remington stared at it for a second. "Naw, I think I'm good." He pushed the apple away. "We need to conserve food; the only ones who got backpacks were you and David." I looked up from my feet to Remington. He kept talking to Eric. "I was thinking we could make some makeshift spears if we sharpen them with your sword. There should be some good ones nearby. Let's make camp here."

Andrew and Eric collapsed on the ground in exhaustion. Remington followed suit. I knelt down, resting my hammer in the ground.

Remington piped up again, straightening up. "David, could you look around for some food, please?"

I lifted up my hammer to leave and said: "Sure."

-Andrew-

Both Remington and Eric sat far enough away from me, sitting there talking and sharpening sticks, that I could relax without fear of being stabbed immediately.

I pulled both of the backpacks towards me, unzipping both and rummaging through their contents. Each backpack was fairly empty in my opinion; there's no reason why we needed two separate bags. I began unpacking the lighter of two.

David snagged this one from the teeth of the Cornucopia; it held a variety of fruits, crackers, a full water jug, and some dried meat for protein. Alone, I'm guessing David could ration this for a week and a half, but with all of us it'll be significantly diminished within a few days. Already, they had began eating the pack's food and water without even considering the possibility of cyanide, hydrogen peroxide, mercury, or arsenic-much less any bacterial pathogens. I let them eat first so they could fall victim to their ignorance, but after an hour they seemed fine so I had a few crackers.

I checked back upwards, those two were still sitting there, laughing and talking about what I think was horses. Remington had told us he was from the livestock district: 10. Talking about work is probably common chit-chat for normal people but I listened in anyway, taking special precautions to avoid detection.

"...and so my favorite one I named Twilight Sparkle. She's probably the most intelligent of the herd. I always...um...Hi Andrew. You are kinda staring intently at me. Can I help you?"

"Damn. I've been spotted." I covered my mouth. "I mean, I'm not listening to your conversation. Don't mind me." I scooted away slowly to avoid suspicion.

"Um right. You do that. Anyway, every pony is..." He turned away from me. Fool! I could strike you right now from twenty feet away if I really wanted to! I held back a maniacal laugh.

I put my back against a tree, preventing a possible ambush if one of them were to circle around me. Why did I trust them in the first place? So what if I was weaponless, running away from the Cornucopia as fast as possible? So what if I was really hungry, and they came and offered me food? Damn this accursed body, and its physical desires of food.

Handling each piece delicately, I transferred the contents of one bag to the other.

This other guy, David, he barely even talks. Is he some kind of zombie? A robot? Secret Capitol spy sent to ruin me? If so then our president is weak. I could manage way better than he ever could. First things first though, there needs to be a better system than the Hunger Games. Just lining us all up and giving some guy a go at us with a rifle is way more efficient than this.

The jaunty tune of the Capitol's anthem streamed from god knows where. I, for one, am all for propaganda as much as the next guy, but it's just too much work to stand up and sing it every night in the Districts. Capitol, I understand the fact that you want us to be your mindless slaves and puppies. On the other hand, you should really understand how inherently lazy people are.

I looked up towards the sky. Whoops, I missed the people who died for day two. I'll have to ask Remington or Eric later.

I discarded the first backpack, now empty, and squeezed the clasps on the side of the second so everything fit perfectly.

"Andrew, that backpack looks like it's going to burst at the seams any second now." Remington eyed my handiwork in a very disrespectful manner.

"But it is so much more efficient than having to go from backpack to backpack." I clung onto the bag, shielding it from non-believers.

"Remington's right. I think that it would be better if we all split them up." Eric looked over at the hollow bag at his feet.

"But if you think of it as..." I began, as a voice suddenly appeared out of nowhere behind me. I flinched and hit my head against the tree behind me.

David stood, pointing in hammer in the direction of the thick forest. "Guys, come on, I think I found someone."

—-—  
>-Remington-<p>

"How did you find this guy?" I followed behind David with Eric and Andrew and his backpack.

David led us into the thick forest. "I was looking around for food when I heard an "Ow" and someone talking to themselves. I think he may have heard me. We should break into twos and attempt to circle around him to strike."

"Um yeah, let's do that." I looked backwards at Eric and Andrew. "Eric, you and I will stay on this side, while Andrew and David go around." I squinted in the dark at each of their faces; they gave me a nod.

The large bag crashed through the forest as David slid between the trees. The darkness continued to swallow all of us as we ventured further.

Eric poked me in the back to get my attention. "Remington, did it get really dark all of a sudden or is it just me?" He dropped his voice to the tiniest whisper.

I glanced behind me. Despite there only being less than three feet of distance between us, I could only make out a tall silhouette, only distinguishing itself only from the dark when it occasionally moved. "Yeah, the Gamemakers have to be messing with us. A forest can't really be this dark, can it?"

Eric looked down at the ground. "I'm not really sure of anything in this game."

Appreciating the little benefit of the darkness, I avoided his eyes as I lied to him. "We'll be fine. Between all of us, I have no doubt that one of us can win this thing."

Thankfully, any response was preemptively cut off by the sound of heavy panting and cracking sticks in the distance. Growing in intensity, the person charged right into our trap.

Gripping the spear we made together, I looked back in the direction of Eric. "Let's do this."

Breathe like a dying animal, the sound allowed us to hone in on our target. Two separate trails of footsteps (one significantly louder than the other) reached my ears, telling me that David and Andrew also found their targets.

As we quickly drew closer, the chaos shadowed the accuracy of any information from sounds. Falling back to my vision, my eyes flew around the center of this circle. A blur of motion darted from my left. The body of shadow plowed into me. Not knowing what to do, I shoved him away, hopefully giving me time to strike.

As the side of my spear pushed away this shadow of death, my last breathe left me, not from my mouth, but the newly formed hole in my chest.

—-—

-Eric-

The crack of bone made me look from the spot in front me, to a distance away.

I looked down in front of me, eyes widening as I saw the mess in front of me. My sword nestled into the ground, as I fell to my knees. Warm blood squished beneath me. "Remington? Are you okay, Remington?"

A cat-like laugh broke the silence I collected.

"Hahahahahahahahaha!"

A short shadow appeared behind me. I scrambled for my sword, before a hand appeared on my shoulder.

"Calm down, it's me, David. I got Andrew. We need to go right now. I know that girl; she's from District 8 as well. We need to leave right now." I stared at him, blankly.

"But Remington..." I protested. "I haven't heard the cannon yet. We can still save him." I realized I was yelling at him.

A chill ran down my spine as a high pitch scream filled the night air.

David pulled my shoulder. "No, we need to leave now. Let's go."

"I can't just let this happens to him without killing the person who did this to him. I can't just run away."

He pulled harder. A canon boomed in the distance.

"You'll have another chance; trust me."

I looked at Remington one last time, grabbed my sword, and left him alone.


	7. Chapter 7: Being Able to See in the Dark

-Rhett-

"Is that one of them?" I squinted. "Nope, that's a bush. Is that a...? No, that was a squirrel, I think." I lugged the strap on my backpack onto my shoulder. "What was that?" I swiveled around. "Oh, it's a log."

I shouted, exasperated. "Why does everything have to look like its gunna murder me?"

The world, for my eyes, ended around ten feet in front of me. Not that everything blacked out after ten feet, but it was like a glass sphere whose windows hadn't been cleaned in a while. And the inside of the glass had been fogged up. And I couldn't reach the edge to wipe off the glass with my shirt. And there isn't really any glass there, my vision just sucks.

I swung the hammer I had out of boredom and frustration. "Nothing is happening! Something must be happening somewhere else if no one has been paying any attention to me. Fair enough, I wouldn't really think I'm that good of television either. But, I at least want a little airtime."

I put my face up against one of the trees near me. "I wonder where they keep the camera. It would make sense to put them eye height of most of the tributes." I bent down a foot or two, staring intently at the holes in the bark.

Hearing a crack directly above my head, I dove backwards, landing firmly on my feet. A large branch thumped to the ground where I had been standing. I backtraced the branch's path up to the spot where it had initially fell. Not signs of motion.

I kept my eyes on the spot for a few more moments until I shrugged. "Maybe everything does want to murder me." I headed deeper into the forest; at least the trees provided a hiding place from people who wanted to murder me.

I turned my eyes toward the ground. "I should probably stay alive. She'd miss me otherwise." I made a promise when I left.

—-—

"You can't do this!" Chaye shouted at some Capitol guy. "See? He's handicapped. He's pretty much blind." She waved her hand in front of my face. Going with our plan, I tried really not hard not to flinch.

"Really?" He looked down at her suspiciously. This Capitol security person towered over my sister. I think he said his name was Bruno. That even sounds tough.

"Yeah, really. He can't see two feet in front of his face. Blind as a bat." Crossing her arms in victory, she stared him down.

"Hmmmmm." He picked up a mug from the desk behind him, examining it in his hand.

Out of nowhere, he tossed the ceramic mug directly into my face. Immediately, I swatted it from it's trajectory of my face. Hitting the floor, the mug shattered, and so did our facade.

"He seems fine to me," he said, glaring at both of us.

Chaye took a step backwards. "Well, I mean, he's technically blind. He has like 20/200 vision. He needs huge font to read anything."

"You seem to like lying a lot. Maybe I should find you a nice prison cell to lie in. You can even watch your brother in the Games."

I stepped up to the man, putting myself between them. "No, this was my stupid idea. She had nothing to do with this at all. I had her agree to it."

"No, Rhett, I..." She whimpered behind me.

I stared the man in the eyes. "I'll come with you, no fighting. Alright? It's all my fault."

"Of course you won't fight me. Now, come on. I need to get you to the train in five minutes." He grabbed my shoulder, and lugged me towards the door.

"Let go of him! Rhett, let's get out of here. Rhett?" I knew her enough that I could tell she was holding back a well of tears.

I threw off the hands on my sides, running up to my sister. I spoke as calmly as I could muster. "It'll be okay. I'll be alright." I put on a smile for her. "I'm Rhett Gutierrez. I can handle this."

"Rhett!" She yelled, as the man shoved me through the doorway.

—-—

The sun had gone out for today, leaving darkness to fill the void. The trees around me didn't help, blotting out any light that might have been left. The hammer in my hand wasn't exactly adept at cutting through the bush.

"I wonder when they'll starting playing their theme tune", I thought to myself. Seconds following my words, a jaunty theme began to rise from some speakers somewhere. "That was oddly timed." I stared up at the sky, ready to see who didn't make it today. I couldn't tell if it was the darkness amplifying my hearing, but the volume was way too high. Trying to ignore the blaring sound, my eyes went to a small gap in the trees which provided me with a small view of the projection.

Neck craned upwards, I blinked a few times at the blue smudge in front of me.

"Oh wait, I can't see anything." I squinted harder. "Yup, definitely still blind." The tune died out with the blue projected light.

About to sigh, I held it in, as I heard a guy's voice whisper something, three feet in front me.

I froze for a minute. Searching my brain for a point of reference of a situation like this one, I came up with nothing. The closest thing I could think of was when I accidentally snuck up on my sister. But she wasn't heavily armed, and (probably) didn't have an intent to kill me.

What could I say to make this not awkward? Hello, how are you? No, that's too casual.

Good day! Shall we kill other people as a united team? No, too psychopathic.

Bro? Bro! Bro. Let's do this, bro. No, too much bro.

My vision already lost, it didn't make a difference to me, but he seemed to be standing perfectly still to compensate for his lost sense. Or at least, this was what the lack of noise was telling me. We'll I guess the best way to make friends is to go out there and do it. Placing the hammer in my left hand, so my right was free to shake hands, I readied myself. Hopefully, I thought, he's a nice guy. I took a step forward.

The swoosh of a blade told me that, in fact, this person was not so nice. Out of reflex, I hopped backwards. From the specific sound of the clunk, I think his sword had wedged itself in a nearby tree. Deep breathing and grunting showed his struggle, trying to remove the blade from the hard wood. Taking the opportunity of his defenselessness, I put my whole body into swinging my hammer, muscles moving to memorized motions. He dove backwards; my hammer whistled through the air above his head, and crashed against the tree.

I could hear a frantic scrambling as he raced off. Grunting, I ripped the sword from the tree, hoping it would come to good use later. Glancing in the direction he had left, I started after him.

With each slap of the leaves and punch of random trees, the forest told me that this wasn't the best idea. Slowing, I decided I needed to get out of here, before those Capitol idiots wanted to see some actual blood.

—-—

-Mia-

Not much activity, today. I guess it's about time for a good show to be put on.

Taking a few deep breathes, my heard rate slowed, allowing me to see what was actually happening, not clouded by stress or fear.

Around me, the forest seemed to suck in the light from my eyes. But, as my advisor told me, seeing is not the only way to observe the world around you. I opened my ears, waiting for the sounds of the forest to fill them. Every sound needed to be recognized, accounted for, and catalogued. And yet, nothing came. Not the chipper sound of chirping from the crickets, or the small rustle of squirrels, or the soft twittering of birds heading to bed.

"Odd", I thought, "I'm sure I heard and saw some animals earlier today. What gives?" I thinking of explanations, I let my mind rattle off ideas. Could there be a fire nearby? You'd think that'd brighten up the forest a little. A predator, maybe? No, not all of the creatures would be gone for something so routine. It has to be the Gamemakers' meddling then. Why? It must be noticeable for other tributes that there are no critters making any noise. In a dark forest at night, there's no noise. No noise to interfere with anything. The Capitol must need their cameras and sound equipment to be able to pick otherwise undetectable sounds, like people walking or whispering.

There are other people in this forest, using sound to compensate for lack of vision, and the Capitol wants to capture something important on camera.

As much as this helped me, I needed my vision back. Giddy with the anticipation of playing with a new toy, an opened the backpack, bloody and red from the hands from which I took it. From the front pocket, I pulled out a pair of black glasses, grateful for the Gamemakers' generosity. I placed them on my head, just in time for the show.

Transitioning flawlessly from the darkness, my eyes devoured the scene in front of me. Thanks to the glasses that had been provided, I could see, not perfectly, but it was better than being in pitch darkness. Brain overstimulated by my newly acquired vision, my ears barely sensed the noise of beleaguered breathing and crunching feet a hundred feet away from me.

I scanned the trap in which this idiot had walked, taking in as much as I could. Four males surrounded him, two from each side. On one side, what looked like a shoddily made spear and a crafted sword. On the other, a weaponless guy, who looked like he like a turtle with that backpack on him, and a form which I recognized as David from my own District. Why had David teamed with this barely functional group? Oh well, that idiot in the middle was doomed if David was here.

Crouching to avoid possible detection, I watched the scene unfold in front of me. The scared make in the middle of the trap ran headfirst into one of the surrounding guards. Receiving a hard shove from the trapped individual, the one with the homemade spear pushed back.

I covered a gasp as one of the four slashed towards where he had thought the enemy stood. In his panic, he failed to realize what he had done. Ripping the sword from his friend, the body collapsed to the ground.

The crack of bone made me turn to see David actually hitting the others' intended target. The panting of this broken guy grew nearer to me. I jumped as he yelled, louder than I thought a person could.

"What the hell is going on?" His plead rung through the night. I steeled myself. Well, I guess it's time for me to make my appearance. I took a breath, and released a well rehearsed laugh.

"Hahahahahahahaha!" Refilling my lungs with air, I could still hear the ambling of feet coming towards me. What the hell is wrong with you? I can see you have no weapons, and you're probably pouring from your heart. Why won't you just die already? Taking a step backwards for each of his, I readied my knife. He knelt down, groping for something.

I screamed in terror at what happened before me. Right in front of my eyes, I could see the swift motion of a steel knife stab deep into his chest. A body arose from the dirt, ripping the knife from his heart.

That thing that did that to him, had been right by me all along. Less than ten feet away, it laid waiting. I held back another scream as I ran in the opposite direction, wanting now more than ever, to run away from these terrible Games.


	8. Chapter 8: The Darkness Outside and In

-Day 2 of the Hunger Games-

I had one thing, one ounce of normality in this reality of hell, worse than any of my nightmares. Was it special to me? No, I don't think so. Would I have cared if you had taken it away a year ago? A month ago? A week ago? Maybe not. But, those who are watching let us have one thing; one thing, to give us the drive to win, to remind us of home, to keep us together in this torment to which they subject us. And it's in your hands.

It's mine. There's no arguing it. I brought it in and, I had it before and, it's mine. Who gave you the right to pick it up? You could have just left it alone, left it there in the grass. Better for it to be lost forever than you to have it for yourself.

Are they watching me now? Are they laughing at me squirm and scream into the air? I hope they are. I hope they see what they are putting me through, what they are putting us all through. I didn't want this. They dragged me out of my home and made me do this.

Couldn't you have just let me keep a part of my home?

-1 year until the Hunger Games-

Running my hands over the aged fabric, I smoothed out the wrinkles in my clothes. Despite the age, these clothes were fancier than I was used to.

"Are you ready yet?" My mom poked her head through the door. "How are you feeling?"

Why are Reapings the only time you seem to care? "Fine." I didn't give her the ammunition of knowing that I was scared.

"Well, good. I'm sure you'll be fine. No need to be worried. Did you take your prescription?"

"Yeah." On our dresser, a clock sounded the alarm. The ring continued from my ears all the way to my heart.

"It's time to go. Come on." She pulled hard on my arm, and I treaded after her. Leaving the cramped apartment, the clinking of foot against the metal grate of the stairwell resonated, echoing off the two buildings. We descended from the 7th floor, into the waiting crowd.

Peacemakers ensured order and separation between home and this temporary zone of the Capitol. As we came to the line of town square, my mother turned to me.

"Okay honey. You're only in this for two more years. Please, don't get chosen. I would be all alone here. Remember, you'll be fine." Before I could respond, she hugged me tight. I just accepted the hug, hoping she was right.

As I filed into my age group, I watched the Peacekeepers from the corner of my eye. Covering their face, eyes, and hands, the uniforms were as inhuman as the Capitol itself, almost ensuring we would hate them with all of our hearts. But really, Capitol didn't need anyone else to help us hate them; they did that on our own quite well.

QED: a pink haired, portly man in a suit waddled on stage. The utter ridiculousness of his look made me think of a gum-ball being devoured by a haberdashery. However, what he had to say was less funny than his look.

"We have gathered here today in order to pick the lucky two who will be graced with the chance to compete in the Hunger Games."

In the silence, my heart reminded me of its presence, as it beat against the walls of my chest. Each pound another desperate attempt to escape its captivity. I put my hand over thumping, hoping to calm the sound that the others must be hearing. Brushing my necklace out of the way, my hand did little to relax it.

"Why don't we have the girls go first, hmm? I think it's only fair." His hand sloshed around the glasses bowl that contained the small slips of paper.

What if they chose me? She would be left alone. My friends would cry, but eventually forget me. I would come back in a body bag, or worse, alive. Alive in body, but forsaken in mind- thoughts cursed by the phantoms of who I had seen in the arena. Better off dead.

"That's probably good." Panting at the exhaustion of moving his arm, he plucked the slip from the bowl. They told me not to cry, so I held my tears back.

"Alrighty, let's all give a big hand for Elizabeth, the new tribute for District 9!"

I almost collapsed from relief. The poor girl shrieked and ran, as Peacekeepers chased after.

One more year. What were the chances of me being chosen next year?

-Day 1 of the Hunger Games-

The Games will commence in 1...

I slipped my finger between my necklace and my burning skin.

I know I shouldn't run directly into it, but it had all the supplies in it. My advisor had told me to run away–as far as possible–yet shouldn't I at least get something? Did she know what she was talking about? I swear I could trace the adrenaline running from my brain to my heart, ordering it to beat faster. Externally and internally, the heat made me break out in sweat before anything started.

The Games will...

Shifting from side to side, sifting through my options, I turned my head to the falling body of girl. My brain told me to put my arms up in defense, but a furious explosion threw them backwards. A small pulling between my finger and thumb subsided to the blackness as my head hit ground.

- 1 Week until the Hunger Games-

"I'm terribly sorry. We simply cannot allow any performance enhancing drugs to enhance your performance in the Hunger Games." The voice of the portly, pink haired man never rose from a casual conversation level.

"Those aren't steroids or anything. I need those. They help me." I continued to beg him, despite his soulless response for the last two hours.

"Just get over it. I mean, honestly." He looked down at me over his waist. "Look at me for example. I have problems in my life; you don't see me on those. When I feel sad, I stop being sad. Just do the same. Get over it," he said as he slammed the door on my face.

Better than the Capitol man, my advisor worked with me. Speaking with a slight lisp, she told me she was an expert in psychology. There might not be a way to defeat this, but she at least tried to help me in any way she could. Despite her positive disposition and the talking sessions, the nightmares returned.

A long time ago, it seemed, I watched as a Peacekeepers dragged a screaming girl to be taken to the Capitol for the last Hunger Games. Now, each night for seven days, I replaced that girl, screaming in terror as they dragged me towards my death. Each morning I woke up, the screaming continued, as I tried to force out of my head the thought that my nightmares persisted as reality.

-Day 1 of the Hunger Games-

My hands raced to my head to check for blood that, thankfully, wasn't there. As I pushed my arms downward, ready to get up, the world split into three. Each version of the ground swirled in circles around my eyes. Everything hid its true form, waiting for the best moment to strike back into focus. My body slammed back into the ground.

For a second, I thought of lying there and going to sleep, but the rational part of my mind pleaded for my heart and body to continue to function.

I pushed my body upwards once again; this time achieving my goal of sitting upright. The sound of battle echoed to my right. What little thought power I could muster told me to veer in the opposite direction, that mess should be something I avoid in this state. I took stock of the pain in my body. Besides for the aftershock still happening in my head, I could feel a variety of small cuts and possible bruises on my body, and, curiously, a small ring of pain around half of my neck.

My feet too stupid to carry my body, I resorted to crawling away. In this moment of chaos, I took the time to admire the blades of grass that rose beneath my fingers. The blades tickled the sides of my fingers, feeling softer than anything I had felt in the concrete city of District 9. I stared at the ground as a shadow darkened the bright green.

I twisted around to find a girl I had seen on the television. My mind eventually caught up to my eyes telling me that her name was Kamila and had gotten a 10 on her evaluation. Only after did it give me permission to flee from certain death.

I scrambled from my sitting position, attempting to retreat and stand at the same time. Wordlessly, the girl advanced upon me. Raising a knife above her head, she was ready to strike, when a guy rushed from behind her. Making a swift movement with his short sword, the girl fell to the ground. I held back a scream as I watched the red trail spill.

"That's what you get for trying to attack someone while they're down," he spat at the corpse.

As he turned towards me, my eyes shot up at his face. He had light stubble covering his structured jaw. His eyes met mine for just a second before a tiny twinkle from his hand drew my attention. In it, a familiar necklace swung back and forth; the small heart pendent shiny with blood. Hands whipped to my neck to check for my necklace, finding nothing but the stickiness of blood.

His mouth drew a breath to speak, before another shout cut off the thought.

"Hey, Jon," Zach shouted as he lounged towards the man with my necklace in his hand. "Let's see how good you really are!" Swords clanged as Jon parried a blow to the head.

Everything in my mind told me to reach out to reclaim my keepsake from this thief, but after having to wait so long to be ready, my body overruled this decision; fleeing at top speed into the forest.

The blood around my neck dripped down my shoulder, reminding me of what I had lost; what Jon had taken from me.

-1 Day until the Hunger Games-

The portly man walked up to me, placing the pocket watch in his suit. "One last thing before I let you loose out there. They just need to check your keepsake."

Taking a breath and swallowing tears, I responded in all the words I could gather.

"What?"

"They're really nice to you, you know? They let you keep one item from the outside world in there. One thing to drive you to win, to remind you of home, to keep you together. That last one is especially pertinent for you." He chortled.

I racked my mind for what thing really matter to me, what would keep me sane in this messed up scenario. But nothing came.

"Hurry up, we don't have all day." He glared at me, tapping his foot dramatically.

Running my hand through my hair in nervousness, the obvious choice rubbed against my fingers. I smiled. I've had it in for as long as I can remember. I wear it every day; it simply had become a part of me.

I stared at the portly man, saying "I'm choosing this necklace." I held it out for him to see. He sneered at it disapprovingly. "I can't say it means all that much to me, but it is there, around my neck every day. In this idiotic, dangerous world, it's a vessel of normality. All I want is to go back to normal."

-Night 2 of the Hunger Games-

The complete silence of the forest didn't concern me, not because I knew why it was silent, but because I really just didn't care. I lay on the ground, staring at the minuscule gap between the trees. I traced the outline of the knife beside me.

Usually you can hear the pulse of your heart in complete silence, but I couldn't hear a thing.

I poked the tip of the knife, making sure I could still feel. The small sting of the knife confirmed. Those careers wouldn't notice something so simple missing from their stockpile.

A jaunty tune blared from a speaker, signaling blue light to be shone from the sky. Above me a two faces rolled past.

"District 10 Collin, District 11: Marcus" I whispered to the trees around me. The tune carried for a while longer before dying off, restoring the sound of silence. I closed my eyes letting the apathy flow through me. I hadn't slept in eight days; I would let them make me more afraid than I already was.

A crunch ten feet away from me made me open my eyes, not that there was much difference between the my darkness and theirs. I lay listening as a girl muttered to herself. I wondered if she knew what her death would be.

Deep, panting breaths, masculine footsteps, and what I could swear was a heartbeat echoed from a distance. This panting continued for a few seconds. Every breath scratched through his throat as he rested in one place.

A stampede of a number of footsteps interrupted his short rest. Various snaps and crunches described a small fight. The snap of bone punctuated the end. A few seconds of silence and three voices yelled incoherently.

The original guy walked towards where I lay. I couldn't tell if it was the same person, but the footsteps sounded the same, so I assumed so. From where he stood, a voice shouted into the darkness.

"What the hell is going on?"

My heart pumped against my chest. I recognized that voice. I know exactly who that voice belongs to: Jon.

"Hahahahahahahaha!" The girl laughed behind me, luring him closer.

I smiled; they delivered me him, and more importantly, my necklace. I could finally have it back. I could finally restore normalcy. It was really this easy.

He limped towards me. In his hand swung a small object. The small light of the moon glinted off the small heart pendent of the necklace, confirming my gift.

My heart pounded, trying to tell its counterpart of its presence. I gripped the knife at my side. He stopped right above me, clutching his arm. Kneeling down, his hand groped at the ground beside me. His fingers brushing against my own signaled that it was finally time.

In one continuous motion, I yanked the knife from my side and jabbed it directly into his heart. He collapsed on me as a scream rang from the girl, piercing the night. After I gently pulled the knife from his chest, he slumped to the ground. Delicately, I pinched the necklace and pendant from his hand.

Pressing it towards my chest, I was happy. Now, I wanted to put this whole night behind me.

-Savannah-


	9. Chapter 9: Interview

Squinting against the harsh lights of the stage as the curtain rose, Andrea Sabadosh began to block the attacking light before recomposing herself. She turned to Caeser Flickerman, mentally rehearsing her responses. With the entire Capitol on the brink, and the eyes of President Snow watching, she walked the fine line between reality and reality television.

The wailing of the crowd reached a crescendo as Flickerman took a bow, and motioned towards Sabadosh. This reignited the fever of the crowd, and it took another few minutes until the raging mass of people where calm enough for Flickerman to sit back down. Adjusting his leg, Flickerman made eye contact with Sabadosh and flashed her a smile, more for her sake than his.

"Good afternoon, everyone. I'm here today to reintroduce to you our new head Gamemaker: Andrea Sabadosh!" The crowd went wild, again.

Flickerman waited for a few moments for the crowd to excise their excitement before continuing. "Yes, yes, we are so very excited for your first year as Head Gamemaker."

"Thank you very much, Caesar. I'll do my best."

"I'm sure you will. So as we know, this is your first year heading this program. Your predecessor had a difficult time, and left unexpectedly. Do you think that you'll be ready for the challenge of good television? I know I can barely make good television myself." Following the suit of the crowd, they both shared a laugh at his self deprecation.

Sabadosh relaxed a little, happy that he brought up a topic for which she had an answer. "Well, I both admire and respect my predecessor, but I have some great plans for this Hunger Games; I'm ready to make this Quarter Quell one of the most interesting Games yet."

"Ooooo," Flickerman cooed, "Do you have some grand plan for this year that you would like to share with us?"

Having the ball in her court, Sabadosh played with it a bit. "Well, I can't say directly, but I can tell you this: I think the Games are evolving. Smart thinking, in addition to brute strength is really the future."

Flickerman made a curious face to the audience, "Very interesting, but there can be troubles with that, you know? Last year one of the 'smart'", he punctuated this words with heavy air quotes, "ended up digging out the mines planted in the area, something completely unexpected by the previous Gamemaker."

Sabadosh smiled, "Well I shouldn't divulge any information..." She trailed off teasingly.

"Oh, come on," he turned toward the audience. "Would you guys like to be in on the secret?" They Capitol agreed with another loud cheer.

"Well, just between you and me," she smiled, "I've set got the mines on a higher caliber this year. A higher power than anything you've seen before. Much more sensitive as well. If anyone tries to dig one up, they'll be really blown away by the new technology." She was getting in to this television thing.

Caeser laughed and went to shake her hand. "Well, that's all the time we have now folks. The reaping is coming up in a few days, be ready for something exciting!"


	10. Chapter 10: Coffee and Other Stimulents

-Jacob-

You would think that a group of four teenagers would make enough noise for me to wake up a mile away, but then again, I also wouldn't consider my brain to be at full working-ness. Contrary to my brain though, instincts took over as my heart pumped in anticipation. Pushing against the dirt, my elbows popped as they carried my body into an upright position. As I cracked my knuckles (letting out a sign of contentment as I felt the release of pressure), I sprung onto my feet. From the shameless crashes through the bush, I guessed I had about twenty seconds until go-time. I tied the tiny pouch around my wrist, and did a quick leg stretch.

"No need to pull something," I commented as my hand reached to my wiggling toes. All limbered up, I looked behind me for an acceptable escape route; the forest floor is series of face plants waiting to happen. Mentally picking the least foliage covered ground, I turned back to find those idiots looking in the complete opposite direction.

A blonde haired guy, who at least thought he was the leader of this convoy, glared and pointed in direction they came from. Poking out from behind the trees, a similarly styled brown haired guy shrugged apathetically. Two short girls, one with fiery red hair with a burn on her face to match, and the other with longer hair, a blend of searing red and bright blonde, bobbed in and out of sight due to the high bushes.

Despite the comradery I felt for other short people, I decided it was about time to get the hell out of here. Yet, of course, the short blonde haired girl took charge and shoved away the bushes obscuring their vision, completely exposing me. She opened her mouth to beckon over the others, but I beat her to the punch.

Changing the pitch of my voice to be as suave as hell, I used a preemptive strike."Hello! Ladies, how are we doing today?" One by one the heads of her other group members popped into view; each one holding a bewildered look. "I'm sure you would like to get your hands all over this," I gestured to my manliness. "But sadly, I gotta go. Unless you would like to accompany me?" Raising an eyebrow, I smirked.

The original blonde girl, rosy cheeked, wiped the confused look off her face, before spitting out: "Oh, you are so getting murdered."

Taking that as my cue, I started my exit. For the next few seconds, time seemed to slow. The toes of my feet pivoted against the dirt below me, the crunch of pieces of gravel scraping against each other between the rubber sole. Following suit, my other foot turned, as my torso twisted to reorient itself. Stretching my diaphragm, my lungs inflated with air.

Launching me forward, my legs powered against the ground. I sidestepped the trees, dodged the branches and burst out from the clearing. From behind me, I could hear the ginger pouting angrily.

"Hey! Get back here!" Knowing it would mess up my breathing, I withheld a laugh, yet I couldn't stop a little smile. The others were slightly quicker to react, however. The erratic stomps of amateurs followed behind me, but every second the space between us widened.

"Zach, Rachel, Shelby, hurry up or we're gunna lose him. Why are you guys so slow?" A male voiced gasped behind me.

The other male voice, evidently Zach, not far behind the first, responded, "Chill out, guys. I got this. I work out." His footsteps picked up pace and began encroaching dangerously close to mine. Faced downwards, I contorted my face, clenched my teeth, and put everything I had into accelerating. A small twinge of fear (or more adrenaline; it's hard to tell.) rushed through me as I continued to hear him catching up to me. Thankfully, his endurance gave out, and his running piddled to a stop.

By the time I glanced backwards, no member of the group stood within 100 meters of me. I allowed my legs to slow, just a little; between my deep gasps and sweat, my body told me I couldn't keep up this pace for much longer. The blonde haired girl, Shelby, watched me as I ran. For a second, it seemed like she considered the option of following, but she threw up her hands and turned around.

After twenty minutes of jogging, I finally felt comfortable enough to collapse onto the ground. Surveying around me, it wasn't exactly the ideal place; there were only a few sparse pine trees and a handful of boulders to provide shelter, but there was a small creek flowing, so it would do for now. From my wrist pack, I pulled out a water bottle. Placing the small filter around the top, I let the water flow into the container. Taking a large gulp, the small lingering hint of coffee teased me. I sighed; it was so good while it lasted.

"If this pack was meant for me, I don't think the Capitol really understands me." I didn't really know who I was talking to, but I knew someone was listening somewhere."I mean, there were only eight packs of instant coffee. Disregarding the fact the coffee was not only cold, but also instant-freaking-coffee, eight packs only lasted me a day and a half. I was even trying to conserve! I steeled myself to go cold turkey, but then they tempted me with a chance of continuing to drink the sweet brown manna of heaven. And then, they only give me eight packs. They are truly the embodiment of evil." I sat down, staring at the orange of the morning sky above me. "I can't believe I'm awake without coffee. Well, awake is a relative term. Now that the adrenaline is wearing off, my body is beginning to notice the lack of the other stimulant it usually has." I slumped against the tree, scraping down bark until I lay flat against the earth. I closed my eyes and let my thoughts drift back to the short time I had in heaven.

—-—

"Wait, wait, wait, hold on a sec. Are you serious?"

"Yes, completely."

I stared at my advisor. "Hoffman, swear to God? You aren't joking right now?"

Through his beard, he confirmed. Yes, totally serious."

This blew my mind. Everything I knew had to be rewritten. The entire world expanded, endless possibilities stood in front of me.

"They really have 128 different kinds of coffee?" My eyes gleamed with the hundreds of potential beverages.

He chuckled at my enthusiasm, "Yes, sir. You can put in extra espresso, a variety of flavor shots, and top it with caramel. And the best part," he paused for what I assumed to be dramatic effect, "it's all you can drink, here in the Capitol."

"Challenge accepted."

"If you could just put that determination to winning the Games, they would call it done twelve minutes after it starts."

I shrugged. "Meh, coffee is just too delicious."

The next week (and my stomach) was filled with every possible variety of coffee and coffee insert I could order. As soon as I arrived at the Capitol, I yearned to peruse the vast catalogue of Capitol coffees. I plopped myself onto the bed, as white and soft as a cloud, and rang the bell on the nightstand. The door creaked open hesitantly.

Unintentionally, I drew back as a white skinned young girl walked into the room and bowed to me. I couldn't tell exactly, but she seemed around thirteen. She was pretty to be sure, with her pristine skin and bright blue eyes, but it was an eerie, uncanny beauty, like a rhinestone that had been chipped one too many times in order to fit in a socket. Already predicting my needs, she pulled out a large book from a drawer under the bed and handed it to me. Despite my eagerness at delving into this holy tome, I felt a lump of guilt at the Avox waiting on me.

Bowing again, she turned to leave. I meant to call out to her, before realizing that I had no idea what her name was or even how to address her. By the time my tongue untied itself, she closed the door behind her, sealing in the silence. I decided not to use any more room service for the rest of the stay.

This however, didn't stop me from enjoying that amazing liquid the next breakfast. Hoffman watched me as I got my fourth cup, his face a mix of horror, shock, and awe.

"Jacob, I think you should really pace yourself. Your bladder is going to explode."

I squeezed the bear by its fat belly, determined to pour every last drop of honey he was protecting into my hot coffee. "It's all good." Out of the hole in his head spilled the sweet gooey liquid, depositing right into the center of the coffee. "Might as well take advantage this while I can."

"Is that honey?" He said, now oblivious of his previous concern.

"Yeah, it's just as sweet as sugar and better for you too." I handed him the container of honey, only after did I realize that it was empty.

He shook it a few times before tossing it aside. "I guess I'll have to take your word for it. Anyways, let's eat. There's all you can eat bacon here."

"This place really blurs the lines between heaven and hell. Maybe it's like purgatory. Well technically, that's not in the middle. It's just..." Hoffman gave me an amused look, so I trailed off. "Anyways, Bacon!" I gathered a combination of bacon, bacon, bacon, and toast onto my plate. On its side, stood the full cup of coffee. It was truly glorious.

In a low voice, (this was only for me and one other specific person to hear) I gave thanks for the meal. Gesturing with my right hand, I made a sign, after which I picked up my fork. This bacon was begging to be devoured by my empty stomach.

—-—

My stomach rumbled, punishing me for the torture these memories were putting it through. Taking advantage of the opening, my stomach created, my head also bombarded me with a painful headache.

I knew I had to get some rest, which meant I actually had to go to sleep. I closed my eyes, but after five minutes of rolling in the dirt, sleep evaded me.

"Why is it when you know you have to sleep, you just can't get to sleep?"

Determined to calm my mind, I did what my parents taught me to do before bed. I put my hands together and let my thought flow.

Please stop headache, I'm trying to concentrate. I hope that Shelby turns out okay; she seemed different than those other careers there. They all probably have tons of sponsors, not that they actually need anything. I wonder if Hoffman is getting me sponsors. Is it that hard to get me some coffee? I kinda want to go back to the Capitol and eat some more food, drink some more coffee and maybe tell that girl I feel sorry for her. Maybe, I can win this thing. Maybe. Hopefully.


	11. Chapter 11: Party Tanks & a Girl Part 1

-Matt-

"Yes, I assure you that these are the clothes of my people." I spread out the garment on the sheets, putting on the act of reverently touching the cloth.

This Capitol puppy that referred to himself as a designer had just shown me the clothes he intended me to wear to the grand entrance: a rock costume with grey face paint. Thank you, but I don't really need to look like an idiot. I was going to be in front of the Capitol and, more importantly, the sponsors for the first time. The Hunger Games started in one week so I needed to make the best impression that I could. The first step to getting people to like you is knowing how to dress yourself.

He pouted and stared at the garment, exchanging glances with his fellow "designers". He finally spoke, "Are you sure? This seems way too casual and a bit silly."

I feigned a smile and looked down at him. "This is outfit is to be worn on all occasions; it's practical, but also has a regal flavor to it. I'm surprised you've never heard of it before. It's making a resurgence in District 2. It really captures the spirit and greatness of the District." I could still see a bit of hesitance in his eyes, so I prodded further. "If you don't let us wear this, your peers will surely wonder if you really know what you're doing here."

If I hadn't known how unironically serious the Capitol takes itself, I would have thought that the intense gasp this guy just gave me had been fake. A jealous indignation on his face, he said to me, "I can't have Cinna embarrass me another time. I will let you…nay! I will order you to wear this. It will be magnificent." Tears welling up in his eyes, he exited the room to go be stupid somewhere else. As the rest of the designers followed him out, all that was left was an Avox.

Giving me a bow, the small Avox girl, probably about thirteen or fourteen, looked up at me expectantly. I stared at her, my eyes directly connecting with her bright blue one, which contrasted against her pale skin. Her eyes asked me if I needed anything else. Not knowing what else to say, shook my head.

"You're dismissed." She bowed again and went to leave.

As I followed her figure out the door, I noticed Zach leaning against the wall, evidently listening. "What were you talking to him about?" He asked as he flopped on the couch and flipped on the television.

"Meh." I shrugged, "Nothing important. I didn't feel like wearing that thing," I pointed to the rock outfit in the corner, "so I convinced him that these clothes were culturally important or something."

Zach turned around from the couch and looked at the tank top and jeans sitting on the bed. "Aw yeah! Party tanks!"

He high fived me as I sat down next to him.

-Rachel-

Barging into the dressing room, our coordinator, Cisdina, squeaked at us in delight. "Awwww, you girls look so cute! Everybody is going to love you so much." I was half expecting her to come and pinch each of our cheeks, but she stood there, grinning like the one of the dolls I had as a young girl. I wanted to say that that tiny dress made her look fat, but I don't think I could handle her breaking down in tears for the fifth time this week.

Rolling my eyes, I spun my chair around to look at myself in the mirror. I clapped my hands and an Avox presented me with felt box. Grabbing it from her hand, I opened the box to reveal a set of jeweled earrings. Brushing my ginger hair out of the way, I placed one ruby earring into my right ear. From the reflection of the mirror, I could see Cisdina attempting to socialize with Lindsey and Kamila. I slid the left earring into my ear, hoping she wouldn't come over to annoy me as well. Unfortunately, some people just didn't seem to understand social etiquette.

She squealed as soon as she saw me; somewhere a dog was writhing over in pain. "Awwwww Rachel, you look so cute!" Walking up to me, she shooed the small Avox girl out of the way, and raised her hands to my face.

"I swear to God if you touch me…" I just about bit her finger off as she pinched my cheeks, ruining the glitter over which I labored twenty minutes. Stepping back before I had the opportunity to take out my earrings to stab her, she clapped her hands to grab our attention. I went back to my make-up.

"Alrighty, girls. I know you are all super-duper excited to be here and get waited on and enjoy the Capitol, but we gotta lay down some ground girls."

I whispered to myself, "We have to be in front of the Capitol for the first time in twenty minutes; is this really what you're doing."

"I'm sorry Rachel. I couldn't hear you," she looked genuinely concerned as she smiled at me. "Make sure you don't mumble like that when you're on screen." Ignoring her, I went back to retouching the ruined glitter. "Anyways, here are the ground rules. Number one: be nice to each other, act in ladylike manner. Number two: if you ever need anything just call over an Avox and they'll serve you. Perhaps most importantly, number three: if boys are blue and girls are pink, no purpling!" She giggled at her joke.

"Screw that. I have plans later with the District 2 boys."

"Rachel, I told you to stop mumbling; it's very unladylike!" Wagging her finger at me, she ignored me ignoring her. "Now go gettum girls. Woooooo!" She pumped her fist up in the air and left to go annoy some other poor soul. After ensuring the door closed completely, Lindsey and Kamila began whispering and giggling to each other.

My red hair finally set exactly how I wanted it, I sighed in contentment. All that's left is to spray on some perfume, and the work of art that is me is finally complete. Ringing the bell, I called the servant girl. "I'm ready for my perfume. Now."

The dainty Avox girl tiptoed into the room, holding the glass perfume bottle in her pale hands. Her look a combination of wonder and fear, she cupped the glass, taking each step at a time.

"Come on. I don't have all day." Taking her eyes off the bottle and her feet, she shifted her gaze up to me. Doing two things at once was apparently too much of her because she stumbled and fell towards the ground. The small thump she made did not compare the loud shattering of glass as the contents of the bottle spread across the floor. Cut from the shards of glass, droplets of blood mixed with the growing pool of perfume.

There goes my hundred dollar perfume I spent all day shopping for. "What the hell is wrong you? Is it that hard to walk across a room?"

Tears welling up in her eyes, she shook her head and tried to wipe up the spilled contents with her clothes. "Yeah, like that's going to work. I suggest you leave and get someone else to clean up your mess." Head hung towards the ground; she nodded, maneuvered around the glass, and exited the room. "Now, I have to take the train all the way back to the plaza and order some more. Is it that hard to get decent help these days?"

—-—  
>-Zach-<p>

"Well, last night was boring." I exhaled outwards as I pushed the weight upwards, inhaling as I went back down.

Above, Matt spotted me. "Yeah, for all worked up we got, it was pathetic. They just parade us in for five minutes, the Pres gave three minute speech and then they just wheel us back out; all over within fifteen minutes. That Rachel girl was pretty nice though. She's from a good District right?"

Setting the weight down, I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Matt. She's from District 1. You know, not everyone from the other Districts is completely worthless."

"They're all noobs. Half of them can't tie their own shoelaces and other half get their fingers caught in the knots."

I laughed. "Not everyone from the other districts is like that. Do you know that Katlyn girl? I've seen her train. She doesn't look like someone to mess with." I picked up a pair of easy ten pound weights to get me started.

"Yeah, I've watched her. She's pretty fast. I'm guessing she'll get a ten or eleven." Matt grabbed two fifteen pound weights.

I grinned. "Hey, don't try to one-up me." Accepting his challenge, I swapped to the twenty pounds ones. "Anyways, what do you think you're gunna get from the judges?"

"Well, I am pretty awesome." I set down my dumbbell and punched him. He laughed. "We'll both probably get about a ten." As I was about to pick the dumbbell again, a kid came up to us.

I felt bad for this kid. I had no doubt in my mind he was going to get slaughtered out there. He was pretty much the personification of nerddom. Thick rimmed glasses adorned his round face. Short to the ground, his body seemed more at home in a comfy office chair than here at the gym. The twinge of guilt I felt at judging him only increased as he spoke to us.

"Hi guy, I'm Aaron." He held out his hand to Matt, who stared at it and looked back up at him. "Er, would you mind if I borrow one of those weights?"

Barely breaking eye contact, Matt grabbed a one pound weight and handed it to him. "Good luck with this."

Aaron looked down at it, glared at Matt, and went off in the opposite direction towards more nerds. I stared up at Matt who was holding in a laugh, "Matt, you're kinda an asshole."

He put his hands in the air. "Oh, come on. Why is he even trying? No matter what, the highest score he is going to get it like a two, maybe a three from pity." I punched him again, laughing.

"That doesn't mean you're not an asshole."

-Aaron-

I tried to put those career guys out of my mind for the last few days, but the way they looked at me, one with derision, the other with pity, just wouldn't go away. I sighed, thinking that maybe I couldn't do this after all.

Thankfully, these two guys helped to take my mind off it, if only because they hadn't stopped talking for the whole week.

"So anyway, at first, it seemed obvious that the apple symbolized temptation. That's what we expect it to be." Evan adjusted his glasses, and took a bite of his breakfast. "But I find it really interesting that a work can take something so expected and flip it on his side. Here, apples were obviously symbolizing fate. Some people argue that they still symbolize temptation, but I think that it's just them trying to put everything into their own schema they already had, without thinking about it objectively. What do you think, Chau?"

I nibbled at my toast, while Chau heaped another pile of bacon on his plate. Chau paused and spoke. "I'm sorry, Evan. I can't answer that."

"Why not?" Evan stared at Chau, bewildered. I, also, had no idea what was going on.

"I don't have hands." Chau picked up his fork and stabbed a sausage.

"Chau, you have hands. I see can them. You are using them to pick up that fork. What the hell are you talking about?"

He put his hands up in innocence. "Can't answer that, Evan. I still don't have hands."

Evan sighed and facepalmed "Goddammit, Chau. Will you ever just answer one of my questions?"

"Still don't have hands. Anyway, Aaron, what will you be doing for the judges this afternoon?"

In my mind, I had a full routine planned to the finest detail, but what I nervously sputtered out wasn't quite as elegant. "Uh, I'm good at archery and robots and origami and stuff."

Chau smiled reassuringly. "Very cool. What score are you expecting?"

Like always, as I continued to talk my thoughts turned to goop. "I dunno. What'd about you?"

He put his hand to his chin in thought, before nodding. "Seven. I'm thinking seven."

Pushing us plate aside, Evan looked up. "Chau, if you actually try, you can get a ten or eleven."

Chau slumped in his chair. "But Evan, trying is hard and I'm lazy."

"Yeah, I know you're lazy, but you're also exceptionally good at test. That's why you're here. You didn't study at all for the IB tests."

Chau grinned. "Oh yeah. Forgot about that." Chau turned to me. "Well, good luck sir. I'm sure you'll do well." He shook my hand and left, Evan following close behind.

Sitting at the table alone, I thought about what he told me. Such a simple phrase, but it filled me with hope. Maybe he's right. Maybe I can do well. I'll show those career jerks that I can do this!

—-—

-Matt-

"Matt, move. You're in my spot." Trying to squish between me and the arm of the couch, Rachel pushed me towards Zach.

"Calm your tits, woman. I'll move." I scooted closer to Zach, lining up with the center of the Television.

"Yay!" Smugly, she slipped in where I left. "Now shut up. My scores are going to be up soon."

Giving me a look, Zach popped a grape into his mouth. I tapped my fingers against my leg, wishing they would just get on with it already. Answering my command, the television switched from some reporter outside our building to Caesar at the front desk.

"Welcome everyone! I'm sure you're all eager to hear what everyone got so let's get right to it. Remember, the scores range from one to twelve, twelve being the highest. Candidates are judged on a matrix of criteria, giving us an almost flawless accuracy. Without further adieu, let's begin at District one."

Rachel's squee of anticipation contrasted against Zach's bored silence. I placed my fingers together, and leaned forward.

Lindsey's face faded onto the background. "Lindsey: seven."

"Psshhh, only a seven." Rachel grinned.

"Kamila: seven as well." Caesar pushed a paper to the back of his stack, before starting again. "Next we have Rachel."

"Yay, me!"

"Rachel," he paused for effect, "eight!"

"What?" Rachel pouted. "An eight. That's all? I worked my butt off for those judges. Stupid."

"Now for District two. Zach: ten."

"Aww yeah. What's up!" Zach fist pumped into the air.

"Jeff: ten."

"What?" We turn our heads in unison.

"Whoops typo. That's Matt not Jeff." A sigh of relief left my mouth; we didn't do half bad. This has to get us some sponsors.

Rachel got up and left to the kitchen. "All right, turn it off. Bored now." Ignoring her, I continued watching.

"District three. Chau: nine. Evan: seven. Oh, that one rhymes." Caesar and the other anchor chuckled to each other. In the background, the scrawny bespectacled boy we had seen a few days ago filled the screen.

"And the last one for District three, Aaron, has a...uh...um." Caesar motioned off screen, while the other anchor laughed nervously into the camera. Whispering to some unseen person, Caesar's face seemed confused. "Is this another typo? No? Are you sure? Okay." Looking back into the camera, Caesar gathered his papers. "District  
>three's Aaron has received a previously unseen score: twelve."<p>

We all sat openmouthed, silence slowly seeping out of our confused minds. The information finally sparked in my mind, setting off a fire.

I leapt up from the couch and began pacing back and forth. "You have got to be kidding me? Are you serious? That scrawny kid got a twelve? What? What? What? We trained for this our entire lives and he just waltzes in and gets a twelve!" I really wanted to throw something, or even better, someone.

Zach rose from the couch, stepping towards me. "Matt, calm down before you break something."

"No, Zach, something has to be done about that kid."

Rachel piped up from the kitchen, "What do you think you can do about it? You can't really do anything until we get into the arena. Just deal with it until then."

The fuse lit by this spark, my mind began thinking up a plan. "I'll do something about this. Just watch me."

(Continued in part two)


	12. Chapter 12: Party Tanks & a Girl Part 2

-Matt-

Lying on my back across the couch, I tossed the apple in the air, hoping that something would come to me. I had been at this for four hours, and I could only stare at the wall, the same few ideas ricocheting in my mind. Catching the apple and setting it on the coffee table, I started talking out loud to myself in an attempt to pretend like I was progressing forward.

"Okay, so finding him and just stabbing him in the back is a no-go. The Capitol would not hesitate to outright kill me. If they saw me walk up and shank him, I would be caught immediately and executed." I paused. "I could try to make it look like an accident. But, on the other hand, they have cameras everywhere, watching us with equal intensity as during the Hunger Games themselves. And even if I could get around the security, if I am anywhere near that kid, they will suspect me. I could convince someone else to do it, but the only one who will be with that kid is other guys in District 3, and they act way too clean to do anything like this. Dammit."

Most of my indignation at him and his superior score had redirected over the last few hours. Now, it was focused mainly at myself. Cupping both my hands around my face, I cursed my past self.

"Why did I do that? I could have just handed him the weight without insulting him." I brought back the image of the bespectacled boy from District 3. "Aaron. Aaron. Aaron." I punctuated each word with punch to my head. "Now that I pissed him off, I'm sure he has it out for me, and he got a twelve." Glancing over at the blank television from which this news was announced, I sighed. "Well, there are three options. First, he actually got a twelve, in which case as soon as we get into the arena, he's going to find me, and I'll be dead. Second, he has connections with the Gamemakers. The Gamemakers are his friends and will explode me or something when I get into the area, and I'll be dead. Third, he's a master trickster, which means I'll probably be in an "accident" and not even make it to the arena. Oh, yeah and I'll be dead."

"Fuck."

Out of ideas, I surveyed the room for (hopefully) spontaneous inspiration, like in the stories of great heroes on their quests. It usually just happens for them. Above, a fan slowly span around, nicely reflecting the endless circles my mind has been traveling in. In front of me, the apple sat, motionless, next to a pair of notepads and pens Zach, Rachel, and I had been doodling with. The couch squeaked under my skin, as I repositioned myself against leather. Everything seemed so boring.

"If I want any chance of living through this thing, Aaron has to die." I smashed my fist against the table dramatically. Behind me, the door creaked open. Confused, as Zach and Rachel had left me hours ago, laughing off my seriousness, I flipped my head to look at the door.

Peeking into the room, I could see the eyes of the small Avox girl. I wondered why she reacted so quickly to my movement, but, I realized, she had been trailing behind me like a background character this whole week. Following me like a ghost, I had barely even noticed her. My eyes lit up. This is perfect.

After waving her into the room, I turn back around, feigning disinterest. I could not hear her foots steps on the carpet as she passed behind me. Like a phantom, she materialized in my peripheral vision, bowing lightly to me. Pretending to take great interest in the reflection of myself in the blank television, I glanced over to her. With an experienced motionless, she awaited a reason for why I called her in here.

Patting the sofa by my side, I tried to give her a genuine smile. "Come over here. I have a favor to ask you." I deep look of confusion swept her face, before she nodded and floated to my side. Though her face reformed back into a cold lack of expression, her eyes maintained a powerful curiosity. I would say that those blues eyes were more powerful at piercing through armor than any weapon I've ever trained with.

"You can cook, right?" Immediately in response to my question, she lifted to her feet to go to the kitchen. Raising my eyebrows, I let out a small chuckle. "No, no. I don't want you to make me something." Fear grew on her face with a surprising intensity. Smiling at her, I attempted to relieve her tension. "It's alright. Sit back down." The look of fear became a small blush as she sat back down on the couch.

"So, anyways are you good at cooking?" She nodded. "Are you one of the people that has been gracing everybody with such magnificent meals?" A tiny smile, barely noticeable if not for the contrast with her previous mood, curled up her face. "Does everybody, that is to say, all of the other tributes, get to have your delicious cooking? She nodded again, slightly more enthusiastically than before.

"At this point, you must be an expert, right. You know what to do; you know what **not** to do with food." Slower than last time, she nodded her head.

"That's good. It'd be bad if anyone were to get sick or something." Before she could process anything, I continued forward. "How long have you been cooking such wonderful things?" She opened up her lips, and then closed them, instead raising seven fingers up to her face.

"Seven days? Just long enough for us tributes." She shook her head, again putting up seven fingers. "Oh okay. Seven months of training is needed for this kind of caliber." Shaking her head harder, she put up seven fingers right in my face. Evidently, communicating like this wasn't going to work very well.

"Here, wait a sec." Turning around, I brushed off the crumbs of food from the binder Zach, Rachel, and I had been doodling on. Ripping out the front page (on which Rachel had made a big game of MASH to entertain us), I handed her a pen and the papers.

"Do you know how to write?" I didn't know much about Avoxes. My parents told me a story of them to get me back into line after a particularly severe series of pranks. They told me that Avoxes had committed terrible crimes against the Capitol. They deserved outright death, yet in their mercy, the great city delivered them from death, instead taking their ability to speak. Avoxes then serve the Capitol to remove them of their sins. Other than that, I suspect that my parents didn't know much more about Avoxes themselves.

Reverently, she picked up the pen and drew it across the paper. She flipped the notebook around to me.

_Thank you .Yes, I can write._

"Great. So anyways, how long have you been here?" No longer needing to move her head, her eyes sunk permanently to the page, flipping the book each time she needed to give an answer.

_Seven years. _

Though catching me off guard, I transformed my initially surprised look into one of cool acceptance. "Interesting, at any point in that time, did you ever feel afraid, afraid that someone could kill you?"

Glancing up from her page, she looked around at the ceiling. She began to put down the paper, but I cut her off. "Don't worry. The camera is directly behind you, so as long as you keep the notebook down, it won't be able to read anything." Turning her head so that her eyes could barely check the camera, her shoulders rested, and she flipped the notebook to answer my question.

_Yes, almost every day._

"Then we're friends, because I'm having the same feeling."

_Why?_

Unprovoked, she had the flipped the notebook to show me her question. I can deal with improvisation, but I wish things would just follow the plan.

I began my epic monologue. "There's this kid, Aaron from District 3. He got a twelve from the judges. By my guess, he has to be a killing machine, trained thoroughly in the arts of murder after years of training."

_Aren't you the same thing, Career? _

"Uh, well I have trained, but it's different." I got back on track with my speech. "He's out to get me before it has even started. He's going to kill me, and I have no chance against it." I started to lay it on thick, for the climax was at hand. "You and I, Avox girl, are subject to this fear together. We have to live in this fear, that we are going to get murdered on a daily basis. It is those people, like Aaron or the scum of the Capitol that force this upon us every single day of our lives. Do you think this is right?"

She could have nodded, but instead she scribbled on the margin: _No_.

"Well then, do you agree with me? Will you help me do something?"

She pointed at her first sentence. Staring at my confused face, she looked down at the notebook and twice circled to the _yes _she had been pointing to. Everything was all going according to plan.

"I'm glad you agree. Now, here's the plan. Leave here and go find some basic cleaning supplies, I'm sure you have bleach and drain cleaner and the like. Here's a list of exactly what to mix together." I bulleted a list of necessary chemicals, and handed it to her. "Even a small dose of this will do the trick. While doing this, cook his breakfast, so the smell masks the fumes of the chemicals. Pick something that has a heavy odor, fish maybe. Pour about a tablespoon into whatever he's eating. He'll be done with the first bite. By tomorrow afternoon, I'll be fine and he'll be dead. " Finishing my instructions, I stared at her. Once she does this, I'll be home free.

_No,_

"What?"

She added on to her sentence: _No, I won't do that. _

Trying to keep as calm as possible with all the anxiety now running through my veins, I sputtered out my words "You just promised that you would help me. Are you afraid of getting caught? Because I know what I'm doing, there's no need to be afraid."

_No, I'm not afraid about being caught._

Desperation starting to sink in, I began to plead. "What? Do you want something? If I win I can give you gold, I can promise you fame, I can give you everything and anything."

_Can you give me back my family?_

"Well…I…um."

_What makes you better than this boy, Aaron? _

"He's going to kill me!"

_Isn't that what you're trying to do?_

"Yeah, but I told you it's different."

Her pen furiously marked across the page, and she flipped over the page to the next side. In awkward silence, I waited until she finished her rant, which she then shoved into my face.

_Is it really that different? Do you really think you're different from that boy or anyone else here? After the Capitol took my parents away from me, I spent seven years alone in here. Every year, idiots like you come in and think they're special. They think they are smarter than everyone else or stronger or whatever. But all I see you do is hurt each other. Why are you so eager to do the thing that the Capitol is forcing you to do? Huh, Career? _

Gently, I handed back the notepad to her. She swiped it away from hand, avoiding eye contact with me. Throat dry, each breath I took hurt just a little. The silence, now more powerful than I'd ever felt it before, pressed against me. It pushed in against my lungs, making each of those small breaths not only painful, but difficult as well. Finally, I gather the courage to speak.

"I'm not eager, though."

_Why are you here then?_

"I don't know if you know, but this year's reapings were a little different. The Capitol had promised the thirty smartest people in the Panem to be granted a chance at riches, fame, and happiness. All my life, my family had been training me for the Hunger Games. But not many Careers come from District two, so I would have had to train alone everyday if it weren't for Zach. We trained; we liked training, but we didn't want to actually go to the Hunger Games. Each year, we told our parents that we were waiting for when the time was right, when we were the strongest.

"So when the Capitol told us that they were starting the Inter-districts Benefits Program, it seemed too good to be true. At first I was skeptic, but I rationalized it that the Capitol was finally trying a peaceful method to calm the Districts down after the last Hunger Games. We finally had another option rather than participate in their death match. We rushed to take the test after actually studying for once. And everything seemed so ideal. Because it was just based on intelligence and not gender, we could have two males "win" from our District.

"You can probably guess that how we felt finding out that this was just another trick by them, that we fell for their lie. And now, I'm a day away from fighting for my life. I know that maybe I'm not actually all that different from the other Careers or the other tributes, and maybe not even better, but I have to try. After all the work I've put into my life, I can't not try. I have to try my hardest to win this thing; I just have to."

I let out a sigh, both to signal that I was done and, strangely, I felt a little relieved as well, as if something had left my shoulders.

"I'm sorry that the Capitol ripped your family apart. I'm sorry that you've had to listen to every Capitol twat and every idiot tribute. I'm also sorry that you've had to stay silent for so long, I can't image what that's been like."

_It got a little bit better. _

Taking my gaze from the pad, I looked into her bright blue eyes.

_You gave me a voice, even if it's just in writing. Thanks for that. _She smiled at me, causing me to smile back. _I guess I was wrong. Maybe, you are different. _

"Thanks. I'm glad I'm better than hundreds of crazed murderers."

Surprising once again, she let out a small giggle. _You're actually pretty funny, you know that? I'll be rooting for you in there. I try to sneak a peek at the television every day, and I'll do whatever I can for you out here._

With a little more hesitation, she turned around notebook.

_I'll do it._

"Do what?"

_I'll do what you asked me to, about that Aaron kid. I still don't think it's right, but I wanna see you get out of there alive, promise? _

I nodded.

After writing one last note, she gave me back the pad and pen. Waving goodbye, she left.

_Good. Maybe later, we can talk some more. I feel like I have so much to say to make up for seven years of silence. Goodnight and good luck. By the way Matt, my name's Rose. _

-The Next Morning-

Caesar flashed on television screen. "Ladies and gentlemen, I regret to inform you that one of our tributes has passed away last night. From District 3, Aaron is no longer with us. I know that many of you are devastated by this. He was, of course, a favorite, highly favored to win after he received a twelve. Now instead of thirty, there will be but twenty-nine in the arena. I know Aaron would have fought valiantly if he had the chance.

"Fear not my friends, for the culprit has been found. A pathetic Avox girl had poisoned this boy's food. From video evidence of her creating a concoction of poisonous chemicals, authorities apprehended her, after which she confessed that she had committed this crime.

"Her family has a history of such despicable acts. At the age of seven, she and her family were trafficking other Avox traitors out of the Capitol, to escape to the wilderness. Though her parents were executed, as they rightfully should have been, the President himself spared the girl. She was only asked to live peacefully, repaying her debt to society.

"This time, however, the same chance was not granted. A few hours ago, the girl was executed by hanging, a manner fit for such a scoundrel. Alone, her memory and her acts will hopefully be forgotten."

-Matt-

"Hey, Matt, are you coming? We have dinner ready!" From across the clearing, Zach waved, beckoning me over to the bonfire beside the Cornucopia

I called back, "Yeah, I'll be there in a sec." One more time, I read the small ripped slip of paper, before placing it back into my breast pocket.

_I wanna see you get out of there alive, promise?_


	13. Chapter 13: Cameras

_Author's note: Hello, readers. I'll try to keep this fairly short. First, thanks for reading. Secondly, reviews make me so happy on the inside, whatever they say. Thirdly, for anyone not coming from the link, I'm updating on a Monday and Friday basis. Sorry for the short fillers, chapter 9 and this one, I'm buried under exams. Alrighty, that's it. Continue being awesome, and I hope you enjoy._

-Sabadosh: Day 2 of the Hunger Games-

Andrea Sabadosh pointed at the control panel. "Copley, Puff, I want visuals up on Rhett, now." Taking a deep breath, she ran over the list of things she had to do. Step zero: start recording the individual oral commentary for day two.

On the computer screen, she opened a new sound file, named it "IOC" and double clicked the record button. She continued her to do list.

"Firstly, thank god the audience seems to love Chau and Matt, so I guess they need more screen time. I wonder if I can get them to fight. Naw, there would be no interest if they both were to die at the same time. Secondly, it makes me happy on the inside that, at least for now, everyone seems to be enthused, especially the president. Thirdly, I have to go over to the Inter-district benefit program president and give him an update."

A chill ran down her side.

"That is one scary guy. I have to give him this report on how everything was going twice a week, and ensure him I have been following all the idiotic regulations and bylaws that he gave me, all so he doesn't kill me." She stared down at the screen, and the red "recording" indicator stared back at her. "Whoops, end recording and delete the last thirty seconds."

How many of these kiddos are dead again?

Gesturing to the holographic screen in front of her, she hit the control and the "F" key at the same time. She entered the search criteria: "dead tribute". After jumping past the first result, obviously, she looked at the fourth word to the right of the highlighted phrase.

Then, she clicked to pull up the chronological list of dead tributes.

_Aaron (Day -1)  
>Katy (Day 1)<br>Lindsey (Day 1)  
>Zoë (Day 1)<br>Kamila (Day 1)  
>Jill (Day 1)<br>Eva (Day 1)  
>Danielle (Day 1)<br>Miranda (Day 1)  
>Collin (Day 2)<br>Marcus (Day 2)_

"Poor Aaron, he didn't a chance, though I am sorry we had to kill that Avox girl. She seemed a little too innocent to have done that out of malice. And then we have Kate." Sabadosh cursed herself slightly louder than intended, to which the rest of the room of technicians gave a surprised look.

"Sorry." They continued to gaze at her, waiting for some explanation. "Come on, get back to work. I want to make sure there are no animals in the forest. Tonight's event is going to be complicated enough without noise interference as well." A thought came to her. "Also, Copley, make sure the light levels are set to one or zero for tonight and enable the night vision cameras."

Busy back at their work, Sabadosh sighed to herself in the reestablished solitude. "That girl Kate. She made me look like imbecile in front of the president in the first few seconds. If the audience didn't love the drama, he probably would have had me put in there with them."

"After all the action of the Cornucopia, the rest of the tributes either divided into groups, or left alone. I'm surprised that there are a total of three groups. In all the studying I went through to get here, I read that there have only been a max of two large groups like that in the Hunger Games.

"Well, both Matt and Chau have made the best of it. Matt put on a very nice action show in killing Marcus, while Chau provided a sort of convenient comedic relief I can always cut back to."

Interrupting Andrea's monologue, Copley called to her from his seat. "Um Ms. Sabadosh, we have a problem over here."

"I leave you alone for five seconds and..." On the screen above us, the squinting eyes of Rhett brushed dangerously close to a hidden camera.

Through the microphone, we listened to him wonder aloud: "I wonder where they keep the camera. It would make sense to put them eye height of most of the tributes."

Sabadosh stepped back and pushed her fingers against her temples. "Does that tree have a detachable branch we could use?"

"Um," Puff's fingers scrambled through her keyboard, "uh, yeah there's one near the top we can drop."

Sabadosh nodded, "Do it. Hurry, before he sees anything." After a few key strokes, Puff slammed the enter key.

Andrea flinched as a huge crack blared over the microphone, and the log landed directly in front of the camera. It would have crushed Rhett if he hadn't had the reflexes to hop backwards.

Taking a breath, Rhett stared at the fallen branch, as leaves floated around him. "Maybe everything does want to murder me."

Sabadosh shook off her surprise and pointed her finger at screen."What was that? You could have made him another dead tribute. Is this a game to you?"

Puff recoiled backwards. "All of the trees were checked over by you. I assumed you knew that one had a type alpha detachable branch."

Type alpha. Type alpha. Sabadosh racked her brain for what the term meant. After a few seconds of panic, the realization came to her. Alpha meant big, duh.

Cursing (not out loud this time), she responded, "Yeah, I knew that. I was just testing to make sure you knew the consequences of your actions."

"Um, of course ma'am. I'll be going back to work now."

Sabadosh sighed once again; she knew this was going to be a long few days.


	14. Chapter 14: Golden Slumbers

-Kaxee: Day 3 of the Hunger Games-

"So if I assume it has a radius of around 4 centimeters and a length of 20 centimeters, then the volume of this water bottle would be 320π." With two pointy sticks, I wrote the equation into the dirt for clarity

"Which comes out to about 1004.8 centimeters cubed: three significant figures. I guess I'll round it out to 1000 which converts into 1000 milliliters. Assuming I take sips of about 10 milliliters every 5 minutes, this will last me about 8.333 (repeating of course) hours."

Taking a step back from the pool of water, I walked into the shade of a nearby pine tree and plopped down. Mockingjays tweeting in the background, I leaned against the tree and enjoyed the peace while I had it. It's quieter here in the Hunger Games than in the noisy factory ridden city of District 9. A rare phenomenon in the district, I savored the beams of sun on my face. Gently, my eyes floated to a close.

I slapped myself across the face. "Nope, can't fall asleep, too much work to do."

I yawned. You'd be surprised how comfy bark is when you haven't slept in three days.

After taking a large gulp of cold water to wake me up, I refilled the bottle. My stomach gurgled, but I offered it more water, and it calmed down. I hadn't eaten since the first day. The small pack I picked up had a few crackers and some dried meat, but that barely lasted me for a few hours on the first day. My lack of self discipline was biting me back, now that I could barely stand up.

Legs popping as I stood, I stretched, yawned again, and picked up the satchel, empty of all but some wrappers and containers.

Placing the bottle, now coated with precipitation, in the roomy pack, I began heading (from what I could tell by the sun) westward, towards some mountains.

_

-Allison: Day 3 of the Hunger Games-

"Ow, goddam sun." The brightness of the sun burned through, projecting red colors on the inside of my eyelids. "Go away, sun. Five more minutes." Unrelenting, the sun continued.

I groaned. Scared of the full force of the brightness, I barely cracked open one of my eyelids. "Ow ow ow ow ow." Adjusting from sleep, I eyes processed darkness then redness then whiteness.

Yawning, I twisted myself, stretching out the kinks in my back. After, I untied the rope from my waist, detaching myself from the branch that I had been sleeping on. A few nights sleeping against hard bark, and my body hated me. I rubbed the spot on my skin that had scraped against the rough bark all night long.

Covering my eyes, I gazed through a hole in the leaves, to the blank blue sky. I probably couldn't have guessed what time it was if the sun wasn't conveniently directly above me.

"I slept in 'till noon. Ah, that felt good." Compared to the gentle pulse of the ocean in District 4, the forest was a lot more chaotic and noisy; I woke up like four times.

Reminding me of its existence, my stomach rumbled noisily, crying out to be fed. "Shut up, stomach. I fed you yesterday." I pulled out the water bottle from my pack.

After taking a gulp, I swished the liquid around in the closed bottle. "Sounds about half empty." I considered going up to the pond to go get some more, but it was, like, a few hundred feet uphill, and I just woke up.

"Eh, this'll probably last me for the rest of the day, anyways." After I shoved the rope into the front pocket of my pack, I stuffed in the water bottle.

Everything nice and tidy, I strapped it to myself and glanced over my side to the ground. It's about a 40 foot drop. One option was to painstakingly climb downward branch by branch, but screw that.

I rolled off the side of my branch onto the next one below me. Bracing myself each time, I descended the tree in a few leaps before just jumping from about 7 feet from the bottom. As I hit the ground, I prepared myself to spread the force equally to avoid a hard impact.

Dirt clinging to my pant leg from the landing, I brushed off the uniform, transferring the smudges to my fingers. I collected the small clods of dirt and flicked them, sending clumps barreling towards the ground.

Not content with the filling of water, my stomach rumbled again; it being used to breakfast after waking up. I wanted to deny it out of spite, before I remember that it was, in fact, my stomach and that I should probably get something to eat here soon.

In answer to my realization, the hearty smell of eggs and cooked meat wafting through the wind into my happy nose, told me one thing: breakfast time.

_

-Kaxee: Day 3 of the Hunger Games-

I held my stomach with both my hands – it couldn't really be put off any longer. I needed to eat something.

I remembered what the survival expert at training told me, and I shivered. Insects and grubs are protein rich and are filling as they are nutritious. He did seem to know what he was talking about, but, on the other hand, he also told me to drink my own urine often for survival so maybe he's not exactly the sanest guy.

The hunger had started to physically hurt. I didn't exactly want to scavenge under rocks, but at this point, doing something like that is better than starving to death. But only barely.

Pulling up the rock nearest to me, I examine what was to become my next meal. Surprised at my invasion of their home, the quicker of the bugs fled outward or downward. Luckily for me–damn my luck–one plump grub was slow to react and only began digging to safety when I plucked him from dirt. Having captured my appetizer, I held him up to face to get a better look at what exactly I was to be eating.

That was a bad idea. Queasiness swelled out from my stomach, and I got a little dizzy as I started to comprehend what I was about to do. I grabbed the ground to steady myself and took a deep breath. I looked at it once again. Small grains of dirt and sand still clung to its slimy exterior.

"Nope, nope, nope. I can't do this." Every part of my conscious mind battled against the physical hunger of my body. Though there was a small glimpse of success, the hunger won out. I had to this, no matter how gross it was.

"Well, I guess I should first get rid of the dirt." I pulled out my water bottle and undid the lid.

I placed the grub onto the rock in front of me, and tried to hold it still, but it kept wiggling and squirming to break free. Noting exactly how much water passed through the opening, I began pouring water across the grub. In tandem, I started to rub the dirt away. My finger dragged across the ridges of the tan skin which pulsed with movement under my fingertip.

A very strong shiver carried itself from my fingertip, through my arm, to the base of my spin. "Okay, that just made it worse. No more touching. No more waiting. No more thinking. I just have to do this." At least for now, the adrenaline put off the fatigue from earlier.

I pinched the grub from the rock. Evidently sensing its impending doom, it began to beat back and forth harder than ever before. Against my better judgment, I took one last look at it and stuck it into my mouth.

The wiggling only continued for a short while longer before instinct took over, and I bit down. As its contents exploded out onto my pallet, I heaved, but there wasn't exactly all that much in my stomach to begin with.

Now, I was stuck. I didn't want to swallow, but I couldn't let myself go back after all of this work, so it just stewed in my mouth. A few more seconds of panic passed, before I noticed the water bottle. Making note to kick myself later, I ripped off the lid and chugged down most of the contents, washing out my mouth of everything.

As my lips popped from the bottle, I began panting heavily, holding my thumping heart.

I wiped the budding tears from my eyes; one down, too many more to go.

_

-Allison: Day 3 of the Hunger Games-

In the unfamiliar smells of the forest, the scent of greasy meat and cooking eggs stood out prominently, leading me in a path directly to their delicious source.

Once the smell was coupled with sounds though, I began to take a little more precautions. As soon as I heard the laughing and a few high fives, I stuck closer to the ground. Breathing steadied, I crept through the trees and low bushes surrounding the clearing the Cornucopia. Finding the best possible position, I hid myself inside a thick bush and glanced through the thick cover of the leaves. I pushed the long blonde hair behind my ears and listened to what they were saying.

In the center of the clearing, two boys, idiotic career dolts probably, gestured and laughed. One, blonde and slightly thinner, placed a plate full of food down and began stretching. His hands reached towards the sky in relief.

I tensed up as second boy, brown haired and slightly bigger built, hit the blonde directly in the stomach at the vertex of the stretch.

I whispered to myself. "Did I come just in time to see them kill each other?"

The blonde flinched reflexively, but then all he did was smile and yell. "Dammit Zach. I'll get you next time." The two laughed once again as I sighed: idiots.

Not as vocal was a small girl I recognized as Shelby, sitting on the other side of the fire devouring her breakfast. She ignored the two, and stared into the distance.

Losing my balance for a moment, I fell forward. Though I had caught myself, a stick snapped beneath my hand.

Shelby's head began darting around in every direction. For split second, I could have sworn she looked right at me, but she was distracted by a sound to left.

A ginger girl with a fiery red head shoved her way through the trees, and yelled: "I found her! That Katlyn girl. She taunted me and began running this way. Hurry up or we'll lose her!" Dropping what they were doing, Shelby and the two boys snagged their weapons and sprinted off into the trees.

Perfect timing for me. Once I had waited a few moments to ensure they actually left, I ran into the middle of the camp.

The campfire still raged, blowing smoke upward, so I enjoyed the warmth and looked around for some proper breakfast. Both the blonde and Zach had simply tossed the food in the fire in the rush, but Shelby had place her half empty plate on ground, upright and waiting for the meal to resume.

As I picked up the plate, fork, and knife, I inhaled the delightful smell. Not above doing what was necessary, I stabbed the leftovers and chowed down. Wandering from the fire, I came upon the giant pile of bags and goods that had been stored in the Cornucopia.

"Ooooooo, very nice. It's not stealing if they have too much themselves." Unzipping the contents of each bag in turn, I picked a bag for storage and shoved the best into it. Some more food, a lighter, blankets, a sleeping bag, and some miscellaneous items, all went into the pack.

Shiny silver caught my eyes, wedged beneath two black cases. Grabbing the blade delicately, I admired my new prize: a spiffy new cutlass. As I was about to pack up and leave for the day, I heard a quiet buzzing.

Tracing the sound, I dug through the piled bags. When I finally found the source, I leaped backwards.

"Who the hell did that?" Under all the bags, yet in a little pocket of air, sat a jar full of tracker jackers. A few buzzed about lazily, but most clung to the lid and side of the jar, waiting to be released from the prison.

I replaced the pyramids of bags; no way in hell I was going to mess with something that deadly.

The camp thoroughly looted, and my stomach full of deliciousness, I needed to get out of there. With the full pack on my back, I jogged westward (which I could tell from my new compass).

_

-Kaxee: Day 3 of the Hunger Games-

Tired, queasy, and hungry, coupled with my thirst from lack of water, I wanted to lie down and fall asleep forever, but I dragged my legs forward.

"I've got to keep moving. I can't stop now. It'll be worth it in the end." My mind drifted back to the 'meal' I had just consumed, but my stomach reminded me that, for all that work, I had only eaten barely enough to keep the pain back.

"How far have I gone?" I tried to think back to the last few days. "My first day, I went four kilometers, I think. Then, I turned around on day two and walked three-ish, I guess, and I've walked a little bit today. So that means..." I paused to process. "I should be back where I started. That sucks."

I stumbled in fatigue and steadied myself on a nearby aspen tree. The world spun around me, but I ignored it enough to extend my arms and gingerly restart my walk. "Where am I going?"

Grabbing onto the same tree, I fell again. This time, I leaned against the trunk a little longer. My eyes fluttered in and out of reality. I meant to slap myself to wake up, but I didn't have the energy to raise my arm. Instead, I slid down the tree, bark tearing my sleeve.

My ear and face lay against the ground, feeling the damp earth.

I inhaled and exhaled, which caused an odd smell to fill my nose. I knew I must be hallucinating because could swear it was pork and eggs, just like my parents used to make at home.

To further confirm my ridiculous guess, I felt vibrations against my face. Looking up, I could see an angel, smelling of food, carrying a crudely stuffed bag full of blankets, sleeping bags, and more food. She was less than fifteen feet away from me.

But, instead of coming my way, she walked right past me.

The smell of delicious food drifted away, leaving only the smell of dirt in my face. The hope for a bed and some warmth left me as I watched the figure fade further into the forest.

"That's okay, angel." I yawned; everything seemed so fuzzy. "I'm sure you're busy." An odd sense of calm spread through my mind. "I'm fine. In fact," a smile came across my face, "I'm gunna take a nap, right now."

The cold darkness of reality faded into the sweet warmth of sleep.

"Goodnight."

_

-Allison: Day 3 of the Hunger Games-

A cannon boomed.

"Holy hell, where the hell did that come from?" My head swiveled around, trying to find out the cause of the blast. I couldn't see anything at all.

I pushed the backpack up on my shoulders and shrugged. "Well, one less person to deal with."


	15. Chapter 15: Cat–alyst

-Katlyn: Day 3 of the Hunger Games-

"Alrighty, let's do this!" After whipping my bushy hair back into a ponytail, I popped out of my hiding place, revealing myself to the ginger career girl across the small clearing.

In a single fluid motion, she plucked the throwing knife from her side and sent it slicing through the air.

Holding my smile, I tilted a few inches to the right. The blade whizzed past my left ear. The ginger girl stared dumbfounded for a moment before pulling out another blade. I bounced up and down on my feet, ignoring the soreness of my leg.

I tilted my head in the other direction, blades again slicing past my ears. "Come on, career, I heard you got an eight from the judges, but I didn't think you were this bad." I stuck out my tongue at her.

She snarled and flung a few more knives at me. I leaned and hopped out of their path, leading each to become lodged thoroughly in the thick tree behind me.

Her hands flailed around to find another blade, but she was, evidently, out of ammo. Instead of panicking, she looked back up at me and grinned. "Matt, Zach and the other girl are less than a hundred feet away. The second I call for them, they'll be here and you won't stand a chance. I'll be back for you in sec."

I stomped my foot. "No, come at me right meow!" Ignoring me, Rachel turned around and began yelling for help.

Step one of my plan: complete. Step two: initiate survival strategy.

Though the deep gash in my leg slowed me down a bit, I had tied a tourniquet to stop most of the bleeding. Ignoring the pain, I did my best to fall into my normal running mode. Chest expanding, I raced in the opposite direction of the ginger girl; I needed every moment of this head start.

A few yards away and I heard the ginger girl shriek: "I found her! That Katlyn girl. She taunted me and began running this way. Hurry up or we'll lose her!"

Remembering where everything exactly was, was a bit of a challenge, but I just let my body take over the running, while I focused on the next part of my plan.

My eyes scanned the ground until a saw exactly what I was looking for. I hopped above it and looked backwards. Thankfully, the careers behind finally started to pick up my trail. I could hear a stampede of eight feet blended together under the crunch of pine needles, but they were still pretty far off. If it weren't for this injury I would have been much farther along, but I dealt with it.

"Rachel, you're right. There she is!" Zach pointed at me, coming closer at an unnerving speed.

"Of course I'm right. I already threw all my knives at her, so hurry up and catch her!" She as well, closed the gap at fast rate. Not that it mattered, phase two should start momentarily.

A single shriek started low, but quickly increased in volume as the first of my traps had sprung. I took a moment to glance backwards; I wanted to admire my fine handiwork.

To my delight, I could see the ginger girl strung up by both her ankles, squirming wildly to remove herself from the trap I'd set. The rest of their party paused, allowing me to widen the too-narrow-for-comfort gap.

Behind me I could hear their voices. "Rachel, are you all right?"

"Yeah, Zach, I'll be fine. Keep going before we lose her!" Just like that, the footsteps continued with renewed effort.

In between breaths, I smiled. "Oh you people."

The scenery blurred on the peripherals of my vision, but my eyes searched on the next piece of my plan. I gritted my teeth against the pain of my right leg, and pushed off from the ground with my left, leaping over the inconspicuous patch on foliage and dirt where I had worked earlier this morning.

Still, they continued after me. Silly careers.

In between breaths, I whispered to myself: "Three."

"Two."

"One."

I snapped my fingers.

"Ahhhhhhh!"

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuu-"

The sounds of my net trap working reached my joyous ears. Random grunts and yelling filled the forest. Ginger girl, Matt, and Zach all down, just one mystery person to go. Then, all that I have left to do is go back and finish up.

Tuning out the rhythmic stomps of my footsteps against the noisy leaves, I listened for the last person. Mercilessly, she didn't stop and check on the career boys. There was only a distance of twenty yard between us. The short strides and rapid stomps told me this person was short and probably fairly fit, but after racking my brain, I couldn't think of anyone who was left that fit that description.

Not letting me have my thoughts, my leg pulsed up against an inflection point of pain. A warm drip down my leg told me the tourniquet wasn't exactly doing its job properly. I shook my head and refocused my attention back on the problem that was currently speeding towards me.

I gasped as I felt a tug, small and fleeting, but definitely an indication that I needed to end this soon. I veered right, towards the trap I had planned for this type of close quarters chases. I spotted the trigger mechanism: a small piece of rope.

A small hand pushed up against my lower back, as I reached out my arm to tug the rope.

My hand firmly grasping the rope, I fell forwards, rolling against the mud and dirt. In an instant, the rope coiled around the leg of my pursuer, stringing her up just like the deer I had caught back in my district. Or rather, as I learned as I turned around, the deer _we_ had caught back in _our _district.

Above me, the dyed hair of Shelby, my fellow tribute from District 12, was in a torrent of movement. Upside down, she struggled to reach the knot tying her feet together. Her squirming and flailing only succeeded in letting all of her supplies fall towards the ground.

I just stared at her. After a few moments of struggling, she admitted defeat and relaxed, letting the blood flow towards her head. Like a spider on a string of web, she span around until our eyes met.

I crossed my arms and tapped my feet. "Why the hell were you with the careers?"

"You're not my mom, Katlyn. I can do whatever I want, and I think that being with the careers was best for me. They are not bad people."

I furrowed my brow. "Shelby, they are kinda the villains of this story." I gestured to this despicable world around us.

"That doesn't mean they're bad people. The people around you are more than just one dimensional characters!"

I paused, inhaling deeply. The pain in my leg was making a resurgence, but I bit my lip and ignored it.

I collected the random items that fell out of her and placed them carefully back in her bag. Finally, I picked up her sword. Her furrowed face told me the blood rushing to her heart was making her uncomfortable, so I walked towards her to cut the knot.

She glared at me. "Why are we even talking? Just get it over with." She folded her arms and turned away from me.

"Come on, Shelby. Stop it."

"I'm serious. You beat me at this game and won; just finish it." Her voice seemed strained and forced.

"Shelby, shut up. I'm not going to-"

I could see tears dripping from her eyes. "Just do it! We all know you're gunna win. Get it over with. Besides, if you were in this trap, and I had a sword in my hand, I'd do it to you."

I stepped back from her. "Well, I won't." I shouldered her backpack and began walking away from her, my entire plan ruined. "I'm done with you."

"No, get back here, you bitch. I'm not going to be in debt to you!" Her struggling and screaming resumed. I tuned out the noise and continued to walk away.

* * *

><p>A few hours later, I jogged aimlessly, pouting in thought.<p>

"Did I really just do that? She hates me, now. Was it worth it? Well, three days of lying traps just went to waste in an instant, though, on the other hand, I got her small pack full of goodies." I sighed. "Why does the world have to be full of moral dilemmas? I mean really."

I stopped near a tree to twist the tourniquet a little more on my leg. Thankfully, the pain stopped almost completely. My fingers slipped through the knot and pulled it tighter. I grinned at my good work, and looked up. The hair on the back of my neck raised, my first instinct was to leap backwards before my brain comprehended who was there.

"Evan!"

An unenthused face stared back at me. "Katlyn...oh joy."

"Hey, be nice!" I raised my arms in big gesture to hug him.

"I don't really need a hug." His face grew in surprise. "No, no stop!" I paused; he seemed a little too seriously worried about a hug. Plus, he was looking past me.

"No! Patrick don't-!"

A quick pain hit the back of my head, and darkness surrounded me.

* * *

><p>-Katlyn: 3 Days until the Hunger Games-<p>

"Did you seriously wake up at five o'clock to run five miles?"

I squirted the water bottle into my mouth. "Yeah, no big deal."

"You are crazy. You know that?" Shelby grinned and shook her head

I tilted my head and shrugged. "If you say so, little shwam."

Ignoring her annoyance at the word 'little', I gazed up from our conversation to the rest of the gym. I could already tell the cliques that were forming: jocky careers, pretty girls, slightly odd group of random boys, and nerdy pair of guys that wouldn't shut the hell up.

Speaking of, that pairs of boys walked past us.

"...right, Chau?" Evan, the skinnier boy on the right, gestured wildly as he talked. "Anyways, you were telling me about the new things this season?"

The taller boy on the right, Chau, didn't look at Evan as he talked. "Yeah, they are not too bad this season." He made a face. "Well, they're not all great, but there are none as bad as HSOTD at least."

"I mean, it's pretty hard to be as bad as that without actively punching the viewer in the face." They both laughed. I almost ignored both of them, when I saw an atrocity that I couldn't allow to continue: socks with shorts.

Ignorant of the awful mistake he was making, Evan just continued to walk around, staining the eyes of everyone around him.

"Something must be done about this." I pointed my finger to the sky.

"Katlyn? What are you- Hey, where are you going?" Shelby had already fallen into the distance, as I crept closer to them.

Evan sat in a bench, ignoring all the weight equipment around him, and continued to talk. "Well, I guess that's true, but I really just wanted to see...Um can I help you?"

"Oh noes! I hath been discovered!" I popped out from my hiding place from behind a fern, and pawed towards them. "You sir, are the one who will be helped!"

"Um, I'm fine thanks. Anyways, Chau, I think that if it's going to end, it will-I'm not sure I gave you permission to hug me, woman."

"You're just so cute!" My shoulders shrugged, I grinned up at him. "Like a puppy that chases his own tail and thinks it's serious business."

Chau piped up from his side. "Excuse me, ma'am, but the men are talking. Shoo. Shoo." I slacked my arms as both of them started to crack up. Evan was the first one to gain back control.

"Haha..hehe...heh..." I glared at him. "Um... Sorry that's Chau."

"Hello, I'm Austin Chau."

"He really doesn't mean anything by it. He's just joking."

I punched Evan in the side. Hard.

"Ow! Oi, I wasn't even the one who made the joke."

"Yeah, but you laughed. Besides," I put my fingers up to my chin and stroked it, staring at Evan wardrobe, "you need help with this." With my finger, I drew a circle around his everything.

"Hey, me and Chau were just about to go to lunch."

"It's Chau and I." I gave him smug look, which he glared back at. "You're not gunna win sponsors like that. Come on, let's go clothes shopping!"

Chau cut in front of me, "Pardon me, but I kinda don't have money, and he said he'd buy me lunch later."

I looked him in the eyes, "which you can do, after I take him shopping." I tugged on Evan's arm.

Evan looked up at us. "Wait, don't I have a say in this?"

"Nope!" said both Chau and I simultaneously.

Evan stared at the ground and dejectedly mumbled: "nyoro..."

Chau looked up at me, smiling. "Well, we agree on something. You can take him for the morning; have him back by the afternoon."

Evan's gaze shot up from the ground. "Chau, you dirty traitor!" Chau just stared at Evan.

"Yay! Come on, we only have five hours. We'll leave right meow." I pulled Evan from his sitting position and dragged him out towards the door.

* * *

><p>-Katlyn: Day 3 of the Hunger Games-<p>

Snippets of conversation floated into my consciousness.

"...idiot."

"said I was sorry."

"...hit her in the head...you to stop."

"Chau...medkit...yes that one."

"Patrick, where did you come from?...the tree, like a bat?...idiot. Shut up, her eyes are opening."

I was always told to go away from the light, but isn't waking up like heading towards the light? Regardless, I gathered all of my linguistic skills and dexterity to articulate the complex state of being in which I found myself.

"Guh..."

Dammit.

"Katlyn, it's us. Patrick hit you in the head, but he didn't mean to."

"I'm sorry." Another voice interrupted.

"The other ones here are me and Chau."

I lifted my eyelids and whispered to Evan. "It's Chau and I." Evan stared at me and lifted an eyebrow, before turning to the other figures coming into focus.

"Yeah, her head's fine." I grinned. "On the other hand, you're an idiot as well."

I raised my head from the bunched up blankets I had, apparently, been napping on. "Whatchu talkin' 'bout?"

"Half the reason you were actually knocked out was because of this tourniquet. Your cardiovascular system is having a hissy fit. You don't just put these on a limb." He's motioned to my leg, which reminded me that it hurt. "A little while longer, and you would have lost that leg form lack of blood." He paused. "Though, it did stop the bleeding to your leg, so I guess be thankful for small blessings." As he was talking, Evan was washing his hands and placing on latex gloves. "How'd you get it?"

"That stupid Kate girl just had to go all honorable suicide. The force blew me into a rock." A slight stinging made me realize he was doing something to my leg. Crunching my abs, I leaned forwards to see Evan dabbing on an ointment on the wound.

Evidently, he had a realization, as he jumped from the medkit, ran to another bag, and rummaged inside. Pulling out a sponge, needle, and thread, he shook his head. Out loud he said, "yes, Cassidy, now it makes sense. Alrighty, let's do this."

Using the sponge to dab up excess blood and the needle and thread to stitch, he began to fix my leg. The ointment took the edge off the pain, but each needle stab into my skin still hurt a little. I felt a little bad; by the end of the procedure Evan's arm was bleeding lightly from the scratches I stabbed into him, but my leg looked decent. It's all stitched up. Better than the bloody mess is was before.

"Okay, now go to bed before you pass out from other reasons." Reluctant to go to sleep while everyone else was awake, nevertheless, I obliged.

After taking a nap, and awaking a second time, I saw Evan, sitting against a nearby tree, trying to organize his medkit. He didn't notice me until it was too late to escape.

"Katlyn."

"Hmm?"

"Now is not the time to cuddle."

In the surprisingly warm blankets, I rubbed my head against his arm. "Oh, Evan, but it is time to cuddle."

"Woman, me and Chau were going to spend the night thinking up a new plan against the careers."

"Chau and I. And nope, you are going to spend it sleeping. You have bags under your eyes. You will stay here."

"Fine, I'll stay, but when you fall asleep I'm just going to leave."

I curled my arms in a knot around his arm. "Nope."

He sighed, and I watched him continue working until I fell asleep again from a combination of medicine and pure exhaustion.


	16. Chapter 16: Heroes and Villains

Chapter 16: The Confrontation

-Shelby: Day 3 of the Hunger Games-

"Godammit" Muscles tired of this, I still tried to curl my way upwards to the knot. Twelve inches away and again my abs gave out; sending my body falling, pulling the rope taut. "Son of a-"

Completely upside down, the ropes began to claw into my ankles; I was still caught in that spider's trap. I let myself dangle, listening to the forest. Above me (or below me I suppose) the sky lit up and a jaunty tune began to play. I better see Katlyn up there.

"Jon: District 7. Kaxee: District 8. Remington: District 10." The tune died off, and the picture fizzled out. "Damn. Katlyn, why won't you die?"

I tried to curl up again, fingers grazing against the knot, before tumbling down once again. I was about to try a third time, when I heard the crunch of pine needles in the distance. A wave of adrenaline traveled from the back of my head, through my body, to my toes, carrying the prickly feeling of needles all the way up. I glanced around me for something to defend myself, but there was nothing; I was just a sitting duck.

"Come on. I'm not going to die. I have to do something." I stared up at the knot below my ankles and gave it one last shot. Noises getting louder, I swung back and forth on the rope, and in the pinnacle of the swing, I used the momentum to fling my body upwards, my hands barely latching on the rope.

"Yes!" I savored my moment of victory. Then, I stopped there a moment. I had no idea how to untie knots.

As I wanted to pound my head on something, the noises finally reached me, out from behind a bush came Zach, Matt, and Rachel. I couldn't decide if this was worse or better than people trying to kill me. I braced myself for the inevitable ridicule.

Rachel's eye lit up as she saw me dangling. "There you are! We've been looking for you for like an hour."

"Not bad. You made it a bit farther than the rest of us, huh?" Matt pulled out his sword. I squirmed around some more. What the hell is he doing? "Um, you okay? You kinda look like you're flipping out." As he readied his sword, I sealed my eyes shut. I heard the snap of rope, and felt the sensation of falling. Ready for the hard ground, I braced myself.

Instead, big arms slowed me down, and set me on my feet. "You all right, Shelby?" Zach held my shoulders. I couldn't tell if the sense of dizziness I felt was from surprise at their niceness or blood leaving my brain. The fact that I almost passed out and held on to Zach for support, told me it was probably the latter.

Katlyn is wrong. These guys aren't the villains

Matt turned back to me and gestured forwards. "Come on, twelv–" Zach punched him in the side. "Come on, Shelby; let's head back to camp for the night. Tomorrow, we need a plan."

* * *

><p>-Katlyn: Day 4 of the Hunger Games-<p>

I rested my head against my arm. Sideways, I gazed upon the sunrise. The bright oranges blended with the red to create a marvelous vista. The hill on which we slept lifted us above everything else, allowing me a nice view of the sunrise, free of tall trees blocking my view.

I knew it was an imposter. I knew that the Gamemakers are probably in an office somewhere, pulling levers and twisting knobs, saying "cue the sun!" But, even then, maybe because of the effort they were putting into this fake, this sunrise was more real than the actual sun. It's prettier at the very least, or maybe I've just never had the time to appreciate the real sunrise.

I pulled my head off my arm; I had a bad feeling eating away at me all morning. I stood up from my kneeling position and scooped up the fruit I had been assigned to gather. Beside me, Patrick was also gathering random berries, though technically it was his duty in the first place. I had told him that red ones were poisonous, but the blue ones were fine. Unfortunately, he couldn't see any colours, so I had to go with him.

"Um, Katlyn?"

"Yesshh, darling?"

"Sorry about the whole knocking you out thing yesterday. My bad on that one."

I looked at him and gave a reassuring smile. "It's quite all right. It was frivolous my dear boy: nothing to worry about at all."

"Um, all right then. Still though, help yourself to any of the weapons I brought back to camp, in return." He paused. "I'm gunna head off. I got to go do guard duty. See ya."

"Thankshhh, buh bye!" I waved as he walked off, back to camp. While I did get stuff done in those first three days, it is kinda nice, having other people around to watch your back. I tilted my head and stared into the sky. "I wondered if Shelby's doing alright with all those careers. I hope she's not too mad at me for what I did."

* * *

><p>-Zach: Day 4 of the Hunger Games-<p>

I poured Rachel a glass of apple juice and handed it to her.

She took a swig. "Apple juice: fucking delicious." She raised her glass toward me and nodded her head. "Thank you, sir."

I smiled back at her. "Hehe, no problem." I slammed a big piece of steak on my plate and began to tear it apart, in preparation for the day ahead.

"So as I was saying, Matt," she waved her fork around at Matt as she talked, "I looked for like thirty minutes, and I couldn't find any of them!"

Once stabbed by Matt's fork, the steak I had cooked squeezed out juices. "Are you sure you were looking in the right place?"

"I'm pretty sure. I don't really think it's hard to find a dozen knives stuck in a tree. They were my last throwing knives too! Do you think someone could have stolen them?"

"Gmgmg."

Matt had just taken a huge bite, so I piped up. "It's possible, but I don't think anyone is stupid enough to come that close to a career camp, this early in the games."

Matt had finally swallowed enough to respond. "We'll spend some time looking for them after our confrontation today."

"Speaking of," I glanced around for Shelby, "what's the plan?"

Matt shrugged. "Shelby said she had something to tell us a soon as she...ah there she is." As Matt had been talking, Shelby, fully equipped with gear, came out of her tent.

I patted the space next to me on the log, which she then sat down on. "What were you going to us tell us, Shelby?"

She took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm going to be honest with you guys; I have been keeping something a secret." Matt eyed her suspiciously, while Rachel and I had an expression of curiosity. "Katlyn and I made a plan before we got into the Hunger Games. We agreed to team up and wait for everyone to fight it out." From what I could tell, she actually felt guilty and was telling the truth.

"But then," she smiled, "I found you guys and Marcus, and I was prepared to help you guys; whatever it takes. Shame what happened to Marcus though. I hung out with him while in the Capitol. He was a pretty cool guy..." She shook her head. "At any rate, then Katlyn comes over and attacks us. That's when I knew she was nothing but a threat at this point." Her hand coiled into a fist and slammed against the log beneath her. "I'm not protecting her anymore, and I'm sorry for lying to you guys."

I patted her on the shoulder. "No big deal. You didn't know she was going after us. Let's not keep secrets from each other though."

She nodded her head. "Okay. To make it up to you guys, I'll tell you something. I know where she is if we want to get back at her."

For the first time this conversation, Matt seemed interested. "Well, where is she? I agree; we need to strike now while she'll still alone and weak."

"She's up on top of the highest point of the arena." Shelby pointed to a large hill in the distance, the top bare of tall trees. "I overheard her talking with her mentor. He told her that, other than the Cornucopia, the highest point is the best place to be. It's where the water comes from, and it offers a tactical advantage."

"But how do you know she is still there? Or maybe she changed the plan." Matt looked like he was deep in thought.

Shelby scoffed. "Oh, believe me. I know Katlyn. She will definitely want to be above everyone else, looming over the rest of us."

Matt clasped his hands. "Very well. There's no time to waste. We'll head in that direction and destroy that girl. We'll split up when we get close; just stay within shouting distance of each other and keep your guards up. We know what we're dealing with now. We can kill her, no problem." I nodded my head and glanced over to see the others doing the same.

Grabbing my spear, I nodded at Matt. "Let's go. We can do this!" The rest of the group raised their weapons and cheered.

* * *

><p>-Matt: Day 4 of the Hunger Games-<p>

Oh Zach, you know how to motivate. "Zach's right. Everybody grab their gear and let's go right now." Within minutes everybody had collected their weapons of choice and was ready to leave. I had been deliberately taking my time, waiting for the rest to be ready before me. From the corner of my eye, I could see Zach leading the girls into the woods.

Zach shouted at me from the edge of camp. "Matt, you ready to go?"

"I'll be there in a few seconds. Go on ahead. I'll catch up."

"Hurry up! You won't want to miss this." Zach waved at me and disappeared into the woods.

Finally, they were all gone. "Oh, twelve. You think I'll trust you that easily with such a cheesy speech? As if." I brushed my hands through my hair, snagged my broadsword and walked to the pyramid of supplies.

"You might have them mesmerized, Shelby, but it's only a matter of time until you discover the power of love or something and betray us." I began throwing bags off the top of the stack, trying to remember where I hid it. "I know this story. It's only been told a million times before. It's just like last year, and I have a feeling it's going to be soon. I would like my party to have the first strike this time." There it was. Beautiful in its simplicity, yet incredibly dangerous as well . I picked it up and admired it. "Ah, well as I said: there's no time to waste." I pocketed it and headed after Zach.

In my pocket, buzzed a glass jar which Marcus died to give me. In it: a swarm of angry tracker jackers, eager to escape, sting, and kill.

* * *

><p>-Patrick: Day 4 of the Hunger Games-<p>

Gliding through the air from the force of my throw, the grappling hook seemed to have landed squarely on a high branch. Tugging first to ensure that that it was held firmly in place, I began scaling the tree. After reaching twenty feet, I made myself comfy and began my look out duty. I was diligent, steadfast, and humble. I was the protector this camp deserved.

After an hour, I had finished carving my symbol into the wood of the branch for the fourth time. "Oh my god, this is soooooo boring. How does this even make good television? Us lying about? Is that really enjoyable? I don't even have music to listen to!" I flipped over and stared at the sky between the leaves.

I covered my mouth as I yawned. Even though I knew no one was there to correct my manners, I'm not going to become some kind of savage just by being alone with a bunch of other kids in the forest or on an island or something. A singular cloud drifted past. Everything is so boring.

"Why can't something just happen?" Unfortunately, my prayer was about to be answered.

Feet rustling through the forest alerted me to an intruder. Slowly, to avoid any excess noise, I turned around to see a small girl with (I think) red hair, holding a very long and sharp pair of knives. Currently, she was wandering in another direction. I shifted my weight, and she tensed up. I froze as well. After a few moments, she relaxed and headed in the exact opposite direction as the camp. I sighed in relief and grabbed the rope of my grappling hook.

I scaled back to the ground and sprinted as fast as I could back to camp. I panted heavily, but pushed myself to get to it in time. As I burst out of our tree cover, I took in the sight of the camp. Katlyn was sorting a bag of berries into two groups, while Evan was sitting beside her, sharpening his spear. Chau was nowhere in sight; he was probably off getting water. Katlyn jumped to me, and Evan turned his head.

"Patrick, what's wrong? Did you see something?"

I struggled to get words out between pants. "There's...there's a ginger girl and... and get ready for..." I was cut off by a voice behind me.

"Oh, you're a little too slow for that."

Katlyn shoved me to the ground, just as the ginger girl jabbed her knife directly where I had been. Instead of nice squish, the girl stumbled, which allowed Katlyn the chance to grab the short sword from her side. Using the opening, Katlyn lunged at the girl's neck. The girl slipped away and jabbed at Katlyn's heart, which Katlyn then parried. I sat back in amazement.

"Patrick, help her! Rachel's going to kill her." As Evan said this, he scurried away, and (realizing I had been sitting there like an idiot) I snagged my knife and charged forward. In response, Rachel hopped backwards, her long slender knives sneering at my short one. Despite my personal disadvantage, I glanced at Katlyn. She nodded; it meant it was time to finish this. We both advanced upon Rachel. Her left hand parried my jabs, while her right attacked Katlyn to keep her at bay. In between, she eyes swiveled back and forth. With each step we took, we sent Rachel closer towards retreating.

One last step back and her foot slipped, allowing Katlyn to knock the knife right out of Rachel's hand.

"What now, Rachel?" Katlyn pumped out her chest.

I felt my soul being sucked out of my body as she gave us a huge cheshire grin.

"Oh, boys!"

The world seemed to slow as I turned my head. In the air, a javelin was hurling at my face. My muscles told me to spring backwards, and before my very eyes, the pointy tip of the javelin passed by. Then, as I continued to fall back, the length of the javelin traveled through my vision and lodged itself partway through a thick pine tree beside me.

"Oh, come on, Zach! Did you really just miss? You were, like, right there."

"My bad!"

Katlyn looked at me and nodded for a second time. This one meant: "we need to get the hell out of here."

* * *

><p>-Rachel: Day 4 of the Hunger Games-<p>

The look on that guy's face made me want to break out in laughter, but I held it in.

Katlyn nodding sideways, I sliced horizontally across her body. The girl twisted away, but my blade still licked her. A rip in her clothes and a small red line traced through her left arm. She clasped it and began retreating backwards. Behind me, Zach ran up to Patrick punched him across the face and leapt to get his misplaced spear. In the small time it took, Patrick had recovered and scrambled away. Katlyn helped him up and both starting sprinting farther up the hill. Evan had long since fled in the same direction.

"Really? Are going to try running away again, Katlyn? This time with your little friends!" I grinned. Holding in the urge to throw my last knife at her, I watched her pick up another sword and run off.

I glanced at Zach and Matt. "Where's Shelby?"

Matt took off after the two runaways and called back to me. "Talk and run at the same time, please."

I sheathed my blade and sprinted off in their direction. "Well?"

Zach gestured in front of us. "If she's following the plan, she should be waiting further up the hill in ambush." Zach kicked himself into overdrive and surpassed me and Matt.

Though I originally had doubts about this girl, she has proven rather helpful in this whole thing. Maybe, we can exchange tips after we're done here.

Within a short minute, the slower of the two came into few, Patrick, with Katlyn only few feet in front of him. Ahead of us the tip of Zach's spear was within inches of Patrick's back, occasionally scratching against his clothing.

Just as I thought that that guy was going to become a kabob, Patrick tripped and sent both Zach and him tumbling into the ground. The momentum slammed both directly into a tree, which rumbled against the impact. I heard a snap, but whether it was from the branches or of a bone, I couldn't be sure.

Weaponless, both the boys merely used their fists to flail wildly at each other, until Katlyn turned around and prepared to strike Zach with her two swords. Evidently, she was worried about hitting Patrick because her aiming went just a second too long. Matt reached Katlyn and threw himself at her. She changed position and quickly parried Matt's blade heading towards her chest. Curly hair fluttering like a mass of snakes, she threw off Matt and tried to pull Patrick out of the bloody mess. Matt recovered and attacked her again, in an attempt to stop her from interfering with Zach's fight.

Close enough to strike, I also jumped towards her, but I was met with the full force of Matt's body, which she had flung off. Both of us crashed against the ground.

The dead weight of Matt's body hurt like hell, but I couldn't use my arms to throw him off. For a few excruciatingly long seconds, he crushed me, but he rolled off as soon as he could. By this time, both Katlyn and Patrick had fled again, damn cowards.

Ignoring me, Matt went to check on Zach. From my perspective, it didn't look good. There was blood over his entire face.

"Zach, are you okay?"

Pulling himself from the ground, Zach smeared the blood over his lips, in an attempt to wipe it off. He cringed as he got up. "I'm fine. He got my nose, that's all."

I crawled toward Matt and Zach. Both of them stared at me. "We can't let them get away. This is personal now."

* * *

><p>-Chau: Day 4 of the Hunger Games-<p>

I sat aside the bucket I had in my hand and began washing the next in the flowing water of the river. Whilst doing this, I hummed to myself. I could have glanced around me to make sure no one was listening, but I was much too lazy. My humming grew louder; I just couldn't hold it in any longer. I can't even understand all the lyrics, so why are their songs to catchy?

I couldn't hold back anymore, I just had to break into song in time for the chorus. "_Kirai Kirai _loving! _Dare ga dare ga _can't be alive without you! _Doushite naze_...oh hello." A short blonde girl appeared from out of the forest, face hidden in a hood, angled toward the ground. I waved at her.

I placed my hand to the back of my head and smiled at her. "Sorry, 'bout that. My singing isn't the best, but I hoped you enjoyed."

From the other side of the clearing, she yelled at me: "Are you with Katlyn? Where is she?"

"I don't know. Where _is _Katlyn?" I scratched my chin.

From her back, she pulled out and arrow and strung up her bow. "Tell me now or I kill you, idiot."

I waved my arms back and forth. "Hey, I am not an idiot and take it easy."

She almost smiled, but shook her head and repressed it. "I don't have time for this." Her hands let go the arrow.

I bounced out of the way as the feather of the arrow tickled my cheek. I put my hands up in the air. "Wooo! Graze points." The girl scowled and let loose a volley.

Please.

I ran towards her, dodging the arrows as I went. Each went within inches of me, but I never broke a sweat. Her arrows actually fell into predictable patterns. The problem with an experienced archer, I suppose. After a few seconds of dodging, I leapt up and batted the bow from her hands.

She drew her sword in retaliation. Thankfully, she was not as experience with close combat. Her swings were wide and unrefined. It felt like easy mode. Easy mode is for elementary school kids.

That stupid song never got out of my head, so I just allowed that to coordinate my dodged and jumps. It worked quite well; she also fell into the dance I created. It was fun, but we certainly weren't getting anywhere. Time to put this into overdrive.

I hopped backwards, avoiding a harsh swing at my abdomen. "If you stop swinging that sword, and just talk with me, I'm sure I can take away your misfortune."

She sliced upward at my mouth. "Shut the hell up!"

How troublesome. Well, let the spinning commence.

I took a deep breath and focused. Each swing and strike was wearing her out, so just a little more, and she'd make a bigger mistake. I ducked under her swords and positioned myself back to back with her.

Instantly, she tried to turn around, but I, as well, rotated around her. At the end of her twist, we were where we started: back to back. Enraged, she swung towards me, and I span out of the way. She attempted this a few more times, to no avail. Every rotation was a circle of 85 centimeters.

"Kuru kuru kuru," I laughed. "Remember, it didn't want to hurt you, but you're being way too persistent." The girl screamed in fury and slashed at me wildly.

Once again, I spun around her. I sighed. Do I really have to do this?

"This won't kill, but it will probably hurt. Sorry, about that."

"What the hell are you-"

I reared my head backwards and slammed it into this poor girl's skull. She stumbled and collapsed at my feet.

I glanced around for rope or something to tie her up. This only lasted for a few moments. Instead, Evan came, panting, out of the forest.

"Evan, you're not rope."

"Shut up, Chau. This is serious. There are careers and...Did you knock that girl out? She's one of them."

I nodded, "Do you think you can patch up her head?"

"What? No, Chau. We need to use her. We can hold her hostage to get the careers off our backs."

I shook my head, "No, Evan, you're not doing that. Have some honor in how you fight."

"Chau, this is not the time for..." This sentence was cut off by two bodies slamming into us. Sending all four of us up against a rock wall.

Evan looked up. "Chau?"

Chau stood up. "Katlyn..."

Katlyn jumped up. "Evan."

Patrick popped up. "Patrick!"

The group of three careers strolled forward, cornering us against the rock.

* * *

><p>-Evan: Day 4 of the Hunger Games-<p>

Up? I can't climb. To the right? There's a cliff and I can't fly. To the left? There's a river and I can't swim well. In front? A group of deadly careers.

From the floor, Shelby moaned and pulled herself off the floor. "I'm getting payback for that asshole." She pointed at Chau.

"Who me? I didn't...um." Chau trailed off.

Rachel smiled. "Oh, I think there will be a lot of payback going on here."

Patrick gulped. "Um, I would like to say that I'm sorry for..."

"Shut up," Zach turned to Matt. "Can we get this over with already?"

Matt was about to open his mouth, but I interjected. "Guys, if you will just look behind you for a while, we'll be with you in a sec. Ha ha heh heh..."

"Shut up, Evan." Katlyn pushed my face out of the way. "Shelby, look at me. Stare me in the eyes and tell if you still want to kill me."

Shelby glared at her. "Yes, Katlyn I do."

"Ouch. Well..."

"Katlyn, you think the world revolves around you and your needs. Did you ever stop to really consider that I too have something back home? I have a family and siblings to go back to. Did you ever consider that I want to win?" Everyone was watching her.

Katlyn smiled at her. "Of course, dummy. We promised that we would watch over each others' families if one of us won. I know the reality of the games, but we can still do this together. I'm sorry, though, for the worrying I caused you."

Shelby's face was on the border of tears. "I'm sorry too. I just wanted to feel..."

"All right, this is getting way too touchy feely. I don't like where this is going." From his pocket, Matt pulled out a jar. I'm sure it had been buzzing this whole time, but we were too absorbed in the story to realize it. Through the glass, I could see the fourteen insects probing the glass. More than five stings and the chance of death was 97.67%. Each stung once, causing hallucinations and fear. _Vespula muttanus_. Tracker jackers.

* * *

><p>-Shelby: Day 4 of the Hunger Games-<p>

"Son of a-!"

"Bloody hell!"

"The fu-"

"Oh god." I glanced around. Everybody, including Rachel and Zach, were surprised as I was.

Matt tossed it in the air, and we all gasped as he barely caught it. "Yup, tracker jackers, gathered for mobile use. Well, I think you've said what you needed, twelve; it's time to finish this." He rose up his hand.

"Stop." I grabbed his hand. "Matt, how the hell did you harvest those? It would have killed you..." My brain finally put two and two together. "You asshole! You killed Marcus!"

Zach stared at him. "Matt, really?"

Matt shook me off and lowered his hands. "Um, he willing did it and gave them to me."

I pointed my sword towards his throat. "You dirty lying snake. He trusted you, and we agreed to work as a team and you murdered him!"

Matt took a step backwards separating him from the group. "Why are all of you looking at me like that? This is the Hunger Games, people! This is what we're supposed to do."

I couldn't take anymore. Careers are the villains. I readied my sword and threw myself at him. Inches from his throat, my blade was blocked from its intended target by Zach's spear, but it still made a slice on the top of his shoulder.

Matt cried out in pain and cradled his gushing arm. "See, Zach! I told you they would betray us." Seeing the anger Zach's face, I began to step backwards. I only made it a few steps before I felt the crack of glass my chest. Before me, I saw Matt's outstretched arm and smirking lips.

I didn't even have time to scream.

After a moment of disorientation, the wasps located me and began stabbing in their venom. Each sting injected liquid fire into my blood. I could trace a path out from every stinger; a slow, crawling wave of pure pain. A thousand stakes stabbed in and out of my body, every moment growing increasing in speed and thickness.

I only heard snippets of talking between my convulsions.

"Shelby!"

It was so hard to process words.

"Zach, Rachel, let's go!"

Was blood gushing out of my every pore?

"Chau and I will go after them. You and Katlyn stay here and see what you can do for her."

Then, the pain stopped. I opened my eyes scanned around me and tried to move. I couldn't; everything was numb. Above me, Katlyn was crying and yelling, while Evan sat silently.

"There has to be something. Evan, look at me. Tell me what's going on. Fix her." Katlyn gazed into my eyes. "You'll be okay, Shelby."

Eyes glazed over, Evan stared up into the clouds. He began to talk, like he was reciting from a textbook. "After the initial injection, there is a dormant period of seventy seconds where the patient will be numb. After which, the venom will hit the brain, causing mind destroying hallucinations, excruciating pain, and death within five hours. No treatment is known at this time." He turned to Katlyn, who simply stared at him, "You can let her suffer through all of that or..." He pulled out a capsule from his pocket. "You can use this pill, and she'll be gone in thirty seconds. I'll leave it up to you." He put the pill into Katlyn's hand and left.

A few more seconds past. One of Katlyn's tears fell on my cheek. She hugged me and placed the pill into my mouth.

I wanted to scream, to spit it out, to yell to her that she doesn't get to decide who lives and who doesn't, but I couldn't.

Are you the villain, Katlyn? Are they? Is there even such a thing in here? My last thoughts drizzled away and were replaced by whiteness.


	17. Chapter 17: Roses are Red

-Sabadosh: Day 4 of the Hunger Games-

In the shiny metallic elevator door, my distorted reflection wobbled as I was lifted towards the office. The reflection looked and acted similar to me, but it was slightly off. The artificial gleam of the metal discoloured and warped my true self. But then again, does anybody see me the way I see myself?

I shook my head and brought the folder full of files closer to my chest. "This is not the time to be philosophizing; focus."

I pulled out the dark red slip I had received moments ago, and read it one more time to ensure I wasn't crazy.

_Sabadosh, see me immediately. Bring the IA's and EA's. I'm waiting._

I jumped when the polite elevator dinged to alert me of its arrival, rustling to a stop. As the elevator doors opened, my reflection was slowly ripped in two.

The tap of my heels echoed along the empty hallway; the last one lingering once I halted in front of the door. After a moment's hesitation, I resolved myself and knocked lightly on the wood.

"So what if I only have communicated with him via writing and electronic methods? So what if he is my boss and sponsor for this whole IB program? There's nothing to be afraid of? Right? Right?" I drummed my fingers along the manila envelope.

"You may enter."

The door creaked in such a way that I was sure that it came with a free 'ominous sound' feature with installation. I peaked my head into the room; it was blanketed in darkness, with a single lamp pointing in my direction.

"Sit."

I did so, beginning to cross my legs for comfort, before deciding against it and sitting down normally.

"Um, so what are we doing here? There's a big battle coming up. I kinda want to be there so-"

"The team is completely able to continue with or without you." I squinted against the harsh light, trying to make out any of this man's features, but all I could see was a large silhouette. "I have called you here to discuss a few things."

"Um, okay."

"First, how is the development of the muttation for this year proceeding? I've seen tracker jackers, jabber jays, and other boring, overused set pieces."

"Well, I-"

The deep voice had the slightest twinge of anger. "Don't interrupt me. Do I need to remind you that one the main reasons we chose you to be Head Gamemaker, and let you conduct your little IB program, is due to the fact that you're supposed to be a microbiology expert? I've seen nothing of interest."

I waited a second in silence to make sure he was finished. "Well, I have been developing a new muttation. Completely original content."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I started by isolating the sequence in the genome of tracker jackers that develops the proteins of a part of their venom." Unconsciously, I increased my talking speed, excited for the chance to teach someone biology. "Then, I place the sequence into the plasmids of a bacteria cell. A simple _streptococcus_preformed quite well. After the production went so well, I-"

He pounded his fist into the desk. "Enough. Get to the point."

"Um, well the point is...is that...um... I made a new species of muttation. _Rosoideae_ _muttanus_."

"And that means...?"

"It's a rose that-"

"You made a flower." That slight twinge of anger grew steadily.

"Well, it's not just any flower. It has-"

"Does it matter? It's a damn flower. Are the candidates going to smell it to their deaths?

"No, it doesn't kill. It actually..."

"Silence. It's due to the fact that you make these kinds of blatant failures that I'm beginning to doubt if I made the right decision to fund your work."

I gripped my chair to prevent myself from storming off in indignation. "Well, if you just give me a chance to explain-"

"And another thing. I have been reviewing the candidates that are remaining in this IB program. One of them, Andrew, has done nothing but denounce the Capitol for four days straight. And, you put him on air this whole time, for everyone to listen!" He slammed his fist into the desk. " Not that the rest aren't much better. The best of them are imbeciles. The worst are downright dangerous to be on air for the nation to watch. The audience despises them."

I flicked open my folder. "What are you talking about? I have actual data here." I shoved a graph on his desk. "As you can see, these district kids have a higher average IQ than the general population of the Capitol. Plus," I flipped out another piece of paper, "the betting from the audience has been at its highest since the last quarter quell. Everybody loves them." With that, I sat back into my chair, smugly crossing my legs. "And, I have preformed t-test on this all data; 'p' is equal to .0000433, three sig figs!"

My confidence drained way at an equal proportion to the seconds of silence that passed. My gaze slowly dropped to the floor.

"You will silence Andrew. Today. Due to the fact that he has been talking in such a way, I want his death to be painful. Demonstrate your silly flowers, if you think they will actually work. I want him to know, personally, what it means to denounce the Capitol. But, make it silent; I don't want anybody to care about him."

"No! I've done the best I can to make sure everyone is given an equal chance to succeed here."

"Here's my ultimatum. Kill him, or you'll experience what a true muttation can do to you."

* * *

><p>-Andrew: Day 4 of the Hunger Games-<p>

"Antidisestablishmentarianism"

_"Antidisestablishmentarianism"_

"She sells seashells by the sea shore."

_"She sells seashells by the sea shore."_

"Peter Piper picked a peck of pickle prickled prit... Damn."

_"Peter Piper picked a peck of pickle prickled prit... Damn."_

"Andrew, will you stop playing around with the jabber jays? We have worked to do."

_"Andrew, will you stop playing around with-" _A rock flew into the middle of my little friends, and caused the full flock to fly in fear.

"Awww, Eric. I brushed my hair out of the way to watch the birds soar into the sky.

Eric glared at me from behind his shoulder. "I'm not in the mood, Andrew. David and I have been looking for something to eat all morning, and you have been sitting there talking with birds."

"It wasn't talking, really. The jabber jays were just repeating what I was saying, so it lacked purpose and intent. They didn't really use language; they merely copy/pasted speech."

Eric rolled his eyes and kept walking. David ignored us both. "Don't you feel bad for them though. The Capitol just waltzes in, snatches them up, and begins messing with their genome, having them replicate human speech to eavesdrop on rebels. In the end, it didn't even work. The rebels weren't idiots, unlike the Capitol, so they fed wrong information to the birds." I scanned the trees for more of them.

"If I were in charge, I would just cut the organic life forms out of the equation. Technological limitations? Can they really make a hovership, but not an electronic listening device? I mean...honestly."

Eric flashed me a glare. "Andrew, they're birds. No one cares."

I knew he still hadn't gotten over Remington's death, but that didn't give him the right to be a jerk to the birds...or me. I sighed; at least the birds listened to me.

* * *

><p>-Sabadosh: Day 4 of the Hunger Games-<p>

Hands shaking, I opened the door to the control room. Nobody really paid any attention to me as I walked in.

Matt's face was on the screen._ "...keep your guards up. We know what we're dealing with now. We can kill her, no problem."_

I licked my lips and took a deep breath – hopefully, my voice sounded confidant. "Puff, Virkler, I need you guys to come with me to control room: fish." I shook my head. "I mean alpha. Control room: alpha. Copley, you're in charge."

Puff and Virkler looked my way, and only after finishing what they were doing, did they actually stand up and start walking my way. I opened the door for the both of them, and we sat down in the three chairs.

I hung my head, staring at my feet. I didn't know how to break this to them, so I might as well just come out with it.

"I called you guys here, because we need to..." I gulped, "Um...eliminate a candidate."

Virkler admired her bright red nails. "Sure. No prob. Which one are we offing?"

"Um, Andrew." I paused. "Errr...aren't you guys concerned?"

Puff stared at me and raised an eyebrow. "It's a pretty normal procedure. I'm surprised you waited so long. Hey, Virkler, how about plan theta for this one?"

Virkler nodded. "Yeah, that'll work. Let's get this over with. Actually interesting things are happening with other people right now."

I clenched my fists.

What is wrong with everybody?

* * *

><p>-Andrew: Day 4 of the Hunger Games-<p>

"What is wrong with everybody? Does their entire civilization not understand that they're living under a tyrannical dictator? I mean, yeah, maybe I want to be a dictator too, but I would be a benevolent dictator, or at least, I would try to be less obviously evil."

David turned to me. "You know there are cameras watching us?"

"Haha! Yeah, I wonder if anyone is hearing my awesome ideas."

David shook his head and went back to concentrating on the path. I suggested going through the forest, but David said something about tactical visibility or something. Still, I glanced over the side of the hill, that's a slippery slope.

If I were to trip, I would probably tumble down the slope. Then, I would probably break my arm on the way down. Once my arm is broken, I will become useless to my team, and then they will abandon me, and then someone will come and kill me.

I stepped back from the edge. In front of me, Eric and David had turned the corner.

"Hey guys. Wait up!" In my attempt to catch up, my foot slid on the loose gravel, causing my face to smacked into the gravel and slide forward. "Ow."

As I spat out pebbles from my mouth, the ground shook behind me, and a loud slam caused me to jump a few feet forward.

"Holy shit. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I just tripped." I looked up and wiped the blood from my face.

"Uh..." Eric pointed behind me.

"What?" I turned around. A few inches from my foot sat a flat boulder, and a wide indent in the ground, dust from the impact still ambient in the air.

David ran to us, saw the close-call, and shook his head. "We need to move. Now."

* * *

><p>-Sabadosh: Day 4 of the Hunger Games-<p>

I crossed my arms and watched both the technicians. Behind me, a camera watched all of us.

Puff sighed. "What a bother."

Virkler spun a knob, keeping her eyes on the screen. "Yeah, I thought something simple like that would work."

"Do you want to try plan phi?"

"Yeah, hurry up though, I should be on my lunch break."

"Sure, prep the nozzles."

* * *

><p>-Andrew: Day 4 of the Hunger Games-<p>

I lurched upwards as David wrenched me from the dirt.

"Wait, what's going on?" The sky and ground blurred together, and my face still prickled with pain.

David shoved me away from the rock. "You pissed them off. Move."

My fingers brushed through my hair, pushing it out of my vision, and I began stepping in my comrades' direction. When I had finally regained my balance, a small hissing sound, like a snake the size of a bee, reached my ears.

"Um...guys? Do you hear a-?" That tiny snake was growing at a disquieting pace; going from a small hiss, the sound began to transform into a small roar. Eric spun back and forth, trying to find the source. David froze, and after a second, unzipped his bag and began searching for something. After a few exasperated seconds, David turned to me.

"Andrew, do you have the rope?"

"Um yeah." I flipped my backpack around. "Just a sec." Overfilled with miscellaneous items, I struggled to find the rope under the organized mess. "Well, I know it's here somewhere..." The sound grew to a roar. What the hell is that?

"Too late. Brace yourself." The sound hit its maximum, and as it poured over the cliff side, the source of the mysterious hissing noise revealed itself: a torrent of water heading directly for us.

In the time it took me to realize all of this, the water wasn't exactly waiting for me to say hi. All I could was plug my nose, as the fist of Poseidon smacked me in the face.

Up was down. Down was sideways. And sideways was kicking my head. The noise of water filled my ears, yet at the same time, there was almost a peaceful amount silence. Between wild thrashes of water shoving me in every direction, I enjoyed this womb like sensation. Then, I remembered: I kinda have to breathe.

I flailed my arms, hopefully pushing myself in a skyward direction. After a few limp strokes, my head broke to the surface. Contrary to my conscious will, I inhaled immediately, catching splashes of water in my mouth. I coughed it out, but I was immediately sent back into the flood.

I took a moment to collect myself in the relative calm underwater. Twigs and debris smacked and scrapped my body. I got to get out of this.

I poked my head out of the water one last time, and spotted a sturdy tree, which somehow survived the beat down. Trusting my usually wonky sense of timing, I watched the tree near closer to me. At the last moment, I dove for the trunk.

My heart start stopped for a moment; my fingers slipped from the tree. Water pulling me away, I reassured my grip, and thankfully, it stuck this time. Timing my breaths between the slam of waves, I began to scoot up the tree. Escaping the force of the water, I climbed to the highest branch that would fit my weight and leaned against the bark. I stared down at the raging water and thanked the mercy of the Elder Gods for my luck.

I yelled over the water. "See guys? I told you I wasn't crazy. The Capitol is out to get me!" My eyes darted around, seeing nothing but trees and mist. "Guys?"

My question was answered by the crashing of waves.

I wiped a drop of water running down my face. I used my deep voice: "Guys? Where'd you go?"

My voice carried across the bare landscape.

* * *

><p>-Sabadosh: Day 4 of the Hunger Games-<p>

Virkler slammed the keyboard. "Why won't you just die already?"

Puff yawned. "Detaching alpha-branch in three...two...one-"

"Wait!" Both of them glared over their shoulder at me. "I...I want to test something." I swiveled the console in front of me. "Activating _Rosoideae muttanus_version gamma. Sample voice: Remington."

"Are you going to flower him to death?" They snickered.

This better work. _He's _watching.

* * *

><p>-Andrew: Day 4 of the Hunger Games-<p>

Water dwindled from the ground beneath me, but I couldn't tell if my luck was changing or not. I was about to try my chances and slide down, when the bark by my face crackled. Out of the small crack, popped a thread-like tendril of a green plant.

"How symbolic. A flower grows out of the harsh bark after the storm. Now, after this struggle, I too shall prosper." The small seed bud fast forwarded through a normal development, springing from the tree and thickening. "Um, is this thing radioactive? Possessed by demons, maybe?" I poked the visibly growing stem.

Reacting to my touch, the tendril coiled around my finger. "And people say that watching grass grow is boring! Haha!" I looked around me, but it was completely silent. On the branch above, a jabber jay flapped its wings at my joke.

"Ow." I ripped my index finger from the plant; a singular drop of blood shone on the finger tip. I stuck the finger in my mouth to stop the pain.

I looked up from nursing my wound; a finely crafted red rose opened in front of me. A sweet aroma fluttered into my nose. Once again, I reflexively inhaled, causing my brain to absorb the perfume.

A sense of dizziness swept over me. Through my now blurry vision, I examined the rose. It seemed normal, red petals and a bright green stem. I inhaled again, and my slight dizziness morphed into the world rocking back and forth in front of my eyes. I hugged the branch for support.

At that moment, I wanted to invent a method of time travel, so I could go back in time and punch my previous self from five seconds ago, paradoxes be damned. It's a muttation. Why didn't I see something so obvious?

I covered my nose from the fumes, but the damage had already been done. Around me, the earth was shaking, and a small murmur whispered intelligibly into my ear.

"Oh, Capitol." I wiped drool from the corners of my mouth. "You won't get me this easily. I can fight this," I yelled to the cameras sure to be nearby. "Huh, was this tree always pink?"

Dammit.

The tiniest voice whispered into my ear. _"Andrew. Hey, Andrew."  
><em>  
>I wanted to turn around to see who it was, but I was afraid that if I were to let go of the tree, I would sink to the ground.<p>

The jabber jay from before glided to the branch in front of my eyes, crooked his head, and stared at me, probably wondering something along the lines of: "why are you going to sleep in a tree, human? You're not a bird!"

And now I'm personifying a bird...whatever they put in me is apparently pretty powerful. Or was I always so crazy?

_"Andrew? Andrew, did you kill me? Do you know who kill me?"_

Now, I'm hearing Remington's voice. I'm not so crazy that I hear dead people speak. Well, I guess I am now.

"Okay, I'll give you this one, Capitol. This is pretty intense." My head slammed into the branch, unable to hold itself straight. "But you haven't won completely. I can still do something. You'll pay for this.

Lazily, my mind twitched around, hoping to find a way to back up my threat. Thankfully, it landed upon my little friend: the jabber jay. Perfect.

* * *

><p>-Sabadosh: Day 4 of the Hunger Games-<p>

"Why are we losing vital signs?" I tapped on the keyboard, trying to click my way to an explanation.

Virkler raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that what poisonous gas is suppose to do?"

I shook my head. "No, no, no. It's supposed to bring on vivid hallucinations, not kill the person. It should have gone through more trials. It's not ready, yet."

She laughed. "Looks like it's working fine to me." Her smile wilted to a frown, and she pointed at the screen. "Wait, is that a jabber jay?"

Puff nodded. "Yup, the boss said he wanted this silent and without any of the other tributes knowing anything, so I'll just shoot it."

Through the screen, I stared at Andrew. He opened his lips to give his last speech. The poor kid had been right this whole time and everybody ignored him. Nobody listened...Well, that's not true. I listened.

I slammed the stack of papers on the desk.

Everyone needs to get an equal chance to prove themselves.

"I'm locked on."

I rose from the chair. "Stop."

After glancing each other, both stared at me. Virkler broke the silence. "He's going to get word out to the rest of the tributes. He'll ruin everything. Evidently, you don't know what you're doing. I'll take over for this."

She began to turn back toward the screen, but I pulled out her chair. "I'm Head Gamemaker, and I decide when to intervene." Our eyes met; this time, I won't back down.

Virkler broke the gaze first, and she crossed her arms. "Fine. As you wish."

I pushed it. "As you wish, ma'am."

Gritting her teeth, she responded. "As you wish, ma'am."

I crossed my arms in victory and glanced back to the screen. Let's see what you got, Andrew; I gave you one last chance. Make it count.

* * *

><p>-Andrew: Day 4 of the Hunger Games-<p>

The jabber jay stood before me, but it took too much energy to keep my eyes open, so I simply closed them.

"Assuming you're not a mirage as well, my friend, I need you to do something for me."

_"Andrew!"_Yelling into my ears, the vampiric voice grew in power as I weakened.

"Shut up, Remington. I'm talking to a bird, here. Anyways, my little friend, repeat after me: Don't stop and smell the roses."

_"Don't stop and smell the roses."_Good. Just my style: cryptic and enigmatic with a small bit of beauty in there.

"Now, shoo. Go find someone, anyone, and tell them that." I swept my hand across the branch, and heard the flapping of wings gently fading into the distance.

Slipping from the high branch, I smiled. Someone will listen to me, somewhere.


	18. Chapter 18: Method Acting

-Mia: Day 4 of the Hunger Games-

Nine knives. Ten knives. Eleven knives. Twelve knives.

One by one, I collected my bounty of knives, retching them out of the tree. Some poor thing must have been obliterated by this career. I didn't really care why the career simply left without any of her weapons, but I didn't really care. I can actually use these.

About to simply toss all of the knives in my bag, I stopped and internally sighed. I did a quick twirl to locate any nearby cameras. Two feet behind me to my left. I turned towards the camera and pluck a knife from the pile.

"Yay! Knives." I giggled and stared at the shiny blade. Reflecting back at me, a seemingly crazy smiling girl.

For good measure, I flung the knife just above the camera, laughed, and sprinted off behind the tree it was stuck to. I waited a few moments, and then tiptoed around the tree to retrieve my knife, carefully avoiding the camera's eye. With only my fingertips, I pinched the blade from above the camera, and I tossed it into my bag. Scene over and materials collected, I strolled in one direction until I came to a hovel.

I did another twirl. No cameras this time: I'm in a "dead zone." I knew Sabadosh would no doubt send in a mobile device if I stayed here, so I enjoyed the privacy while I could.

I folded my legs together and sat down on the least muddy area. My fingers untied my pouch, and from it, I pulled out a soy-burger, given to me by the third parachute I had received. Avoiding the arsenal of pointy objects now in my bag, I grabbed a fork, butter knife, and dressings for the food; from the fifth parachute. I spread the condiments and took a bite, at least partially thankful for the Capitol's "generosity." Without them, I would starve. There's not soy or tofu waiting to be hunted in the arena.

And, I can't just kill an animal, that'd just be wrong. They didn't do anything bad to me.

As if hearing my internal monologue, a squirrel, an acorn still in his mouth, hopped from a nearby tree and stared at me.

"Awww, here you go little guy." I held out a piece of lettuce. He didn't move a muscle. "Um, are you not hungry or..." As I trailed off, muffled whirring sounds filled my ears. I tossed aside the lettuce and jabbed the critter with my finger. The bottom of the squirrel scraped against the dirt, and my finger only made it to the fuzzy fur before hitting an aluminum shell.

"Stupid, robot squirrels." I mumbled to myself.

Well, I suppose Sabadosh is quicker with the mobile devices than I thought. With uninvited guests watching me eat, my meal seemed a lot less appetizing. I placed the soy-burger back in the wrapping and tied up my stuff.

After making sure that thing was watching, I leapt from my sitting position and pointed my finger to the sky, declaring: "There's no time for this. It's been too long since my last kill; eating won't satisfy the deep hunger inside." I held the pose for a second, and glanced at the mobile camera from the corner of my eye. It turned its head slightly.

"Well, I mean, I'm still a little thirsty..." From up above, I could see yet another parachute floating towards me. I could just let it drop, but why not get two things done at the same time?

The squirrel still watching, I grabbed a fresh knife from the bag, tossed it around to get used to the weight, and, after a short moment of aiming, sent it flying towards the parachute. It cleanly it, and lodged itself in the tree.

I wiggled the knife until it came out from the bark, and dropped the package. I looked around; no squirrel. Evidently, there was another camera that took over its job. After twisting off the cap, I dumped out the contents of the container into the palm of my hand.

The soda can made a nice crackling sound as I popped it open.

While it's a lot of work, my advisor was right; all the masses want is a good character.

-Mia: 4 Days until the Hunger Games-

"Bigots!" He slammed his fist into the desk. "They're all bigots."

I raised my hand; this got way off topic.

He swung his foot onto the desk in front of us. "If the Capitol thinks they can do whatever they want, well they have another thing coming."

I was still raising my hand. Are you ignoring me, Thompson, or are you really just blind like that?

He pointed at me. "You're the next generation. Are you going to take this?"

Might as well just speak. "Um, you're my advisor. Aren't you supposed to be teaching me how to survive this IB program?"

He puffed up his chest. "I am, aren't I?"

"Well..."

He waved his hand to cut me off. "Please stop taking. The first thing you need to know, before actually surviving, is how to perform."

"Um, shouldn't I be learning how to throw knives and run around and kill people?"

"You will. It's just that it won't be me who teaches you that." I stared down at my nearly empty note page. "Here's the thing. The Capitol doesn't really care if you actually know how to survive the IB program; all they care about is if you can it on a good show. So all you need to do, um...uh...is that a squirrel outside?"

I glanced behind me to see an adorable squirrel skirting about on the other side of the window.

I jumped as he banged on his table. "Hey, Mia, pay attention. I'm lecturing here. Anyways, all we need to do is make up a character for you, one that will impress the audience."

"Shouldn't I, you know, just be myself and find my way of doing thing?"

"Nope, if you want to win here, the most important thing is to get the Capitol to think that you are interesting. Any ideas?"

I grinned to myself. "Well, I can do a good crazy person laugh."

"Fine, let's roll with that. Now step one, cameras..." He was actually writing on his board!

-Mia: Day 4 the Hunger Games-

Seven parachutes and counting, all from putting on a nice show. Is the Capitol really this dumb? I sipped on my soda.

Yes, apparently, yes it is.

I tensed up as shouting came from the distance.

"Andrew!"

"Andrew. Where did you go?"

Perfect. It's about time I make up for running away a few nights ago.

I smiled to myself, and turned toward the camera.

"Hahahahahahaha"


	19. Chapter 19: In Denial

-Eric: Day 4 of the Hunger Games-

"Andrew. Andrew!" I'm not gunna lose someone else. "Andrew!" After those few hours of searching, the flutter of leaves in the breeze was the only thing that answered my call.

David trailed behind me, glancing to our surroundings every few seconds. Like usual, he hasn't said a word.

I shot him a glare over my shoulder. "Come on, David. The least you could do is try to help. We're not going to find Andrew by staying silent."

He shook his head and continued to scan the tree line.

"Or don't answer me. That's cool too." I didn't really expect him to answer anyways.

"Eric, you already know this. We heard a cannon blast shortly after he left. The Capitol got him. Sorry. All you're doing is alerting anything within 200 yards of us of our position. You should stop."

I think that's the longest I ever heard him talk. In my surprise, I could barely stammer out my justification. "Um, uh... well, we don't know he's gone. That could have been anyone's cannon. We are going to keep searching until we know for sure. We have to."

I felt a sense of urgency. We needed every moment to continue looking for him. But, it wasn't that I thought that Andrew was out there somewhere, fighting for his life, barely holding on, and waiting for us to come at any second. I was racing against the clock. I had to continue until sunset, when the death list would be presented. Until then, I could still search in denial, in the hope that everything would fix itself...that Andrew was still alive.

I called out: "Andrew!"

"Andrew. Where did you go?" I turned around, checking to make sure I wasn't hearing voices. Apparently not, because behind me, David was cupping his hands to his mouth, projecting his small voice to reach the farthest crevices of the forest. Aware of the stare that I was giving him, he glanced down at the ground and grinned.

I gave him a nod. I'm sure he was just humoring me, but it felt pretty good, nonetheless.

I too cupped my hand, ready to call out to the world. But, before I could begin, something interrupted me. Who would have thought that David's one call would be the one to get a response?

"Hahahahahahaha!"

That laugh sounded too familiar.

The joyous laughter echoed around the entire forest, coming from all sides and leaving from all sides. My eyes spun in their sockets, trying to find the source. The laughter crawled to a quiet stop, both of us ignorant of its direction.

My head still darting around, I whispered to David. "I've heard that voice before, on the night Remington died. David, was that...?"

"Her name is Mia, and we need to go." I glanced towards him. His face was stone, cold and expressionless (like always), but in his eyes, could I sense fear?

He pushed me forward. "Now."

My legs understood half a second before my head did, and though I couldn't really comprehend what I was doing, I sprinted forward, with David close behind.

"Hahahahahahaha!"

This one was louder and closer. I could feel the force press in all around me. Regardless, I kept running, the sheath of my sword slapping against my leg with every bound.

Taller and with longer legs, I had some advantage over David, and the distance between us slowly stretched. I could tell that the sounds of his footsteps, despite being barely audible, were growing further and further away. In front of us, the foliage spread out into a clearing, so with no fear of running head first into a tree, I looked back at David.

Twenty feet away from me, David had his head cocked, staring into the distance behind me. After a moment of squinting, his eyes widened.

"Eric, get down."

With no hesitation, I trusted him and dove into the ground. As I descended into the earth, two spinning knives passed where my head used to be.

"Good job, Eric." A few yards from me, the chipper voice spoke. "But, I have more important things to deal with than you." She laughed at me.

I pulled myself from the dirt, and unsheathed my sword. Dragging myself to my feet, I met eyes with the girl. She smiled, and for some reason (she's completely insane, I guess?), she twirled around in a circle, occasionally gesturing with her finger. One gesture landed on a tree directly to my left. I glanced at it, but I couldn't see anything.

After her twirl, she reset her gaze upon me. In her hand, she flipped a knife back and forth.

The pounding of dirt told me that David finally caught up with us, and he slid to a halt by my side. He pulled out his bludgeon. I gripped my sword, ready to leap out of the way of a knife, but nothing came.

I stared at Mia. "Well, aren't you going to attack us?"

She continued to spin her blade around. "Are you kidding me? Talking is free action. If you can't finish it instantly, there's no need to rush things." She smiled.

She can outrun both of us, she's insane, and I heard her laugh that night. Suddenly, it dawned on me. I knew who killed Remington. It was so simple.

I kept my guard up, but I humored her craziness. "Fine, we'll talk. I have a question for you. You killed Remington, didn't you?"

"Well, that's more of a statement with a question at the end. It's like this sentence, isn't it?" She snickered at her joke.

"Fine. It's a statement. You killed him."

For a moment, I watched her. Her smile faded away, and she stared at the ground. She glanced to the tree to my left, shook her head, and the smile regained its former glory.

"Yup, that was me. Doesn't it make this fight so much more interesting?" I bit my inner lip, drawing blood. She paused, like she needed to time to consider something. "I don't see your other friend. Andrew, was it?"

I glared at her. "Did you kill him too, you bi-"

"Yup, that was me too."

Why was I even hesitating to kill her at this point?

Hoping to catch her by surprise, I lunged forward. The gap was large enough, however, that I had a few seconds of awkward running before I was close enough to strike. In that time, she hopped in another direction, but she kept her gaze on David. She completely ignored me.

Instead of countering my blow, she flung a pair of knives at David, who barrel-rolled out on the way. Landing on his feet, he took out his bludgeon and raced towards her. I too dashed to her, sword ready for her blood.

David got there first. In short quick jabs, he forced Mia to retreat. Every time Mia tried to strike, the slice was parried and countered. The crazy smile drained from her face and turned into a grimace.

Once I got there, I slashed a few times in her general direction. She bounced away, and David leapt to strike. Although she barely dodged it, the bludgeon scrapped across her arm, before slamming into a tree. She ran a few steps away and flung three more knives at David.

Though none of them hit, the attack pushed David far enough away from her, onto the slope of a hill. Now, it was just her and me.

She twirled again and stared into a spot directly above me. In an overly dramatic fashion, she put her hand to her mouth and cried: "If only I didn't have to fight you both at once."

Who the hell talks so much in the heat of battle?

I slashed at her, and barely concerning herself with it, she bent sideways. Seeing that Mia was finished with her attack, David ran for us. Ready to attack again, I raised my sword above my head. We can finish this. We can avenge them both.

Unfortunately, Mia had dragged the world itself into her pit of crazy. Above us, huge branches fell from the sky and rolled towards David. He attempted to jump away or get around them, but I could only watch as he was sent tumbling down the slope.

"David!" Was he dead? I hadn't heard a cannon, but...

"Hahahahahahaha."

I glanced to the slope where David had disappeared. I promised to come back to him after I dealt with Mia.

"Come and get me, Eric!"

In my surprise, Mia slipped from my grasped and fled. I ran after her. She killed two of us and hurt another. I can't just let her get away with this.

Veins full of adrenaline, any advantage her head start gave her was nullified by my drive to kill this crazy girl.

In no time, Mia appeared in my vision. Noticing my intrusion, she stopped running and, once again, twirled around. She made direct eye contact with me. A knife rose in her hand, and I braced myself for the inevitable.

When I reopened my eyes, the knife was lodged, not in my head, but in a tree. Small sparks came from the point of the knife. And a mechanical whirring slowed to a stop.

In a voice more sincere than I thought possible from such a monster, she spoke to me. "Stop. There are no more cameras nearby."

I gripped my sword. "I'm not falling for your tricks."

"I'm not crazy. You have to believe me. You need to know the truth." Her eyes dotted back and forth. "There's not much time. They're going to send a mobile camera any minute now."

I lunged at her stomach. As she dodged, she sighed. In a few motions, she elbowed me in the arm, I let go of the blade, and she picked it up, pointing at my chest.

"Are you listening to me now?"

"Um...yeah."

She dropped the sword on the ground. "Look. I was there the night all of that went down, when you're friend," she glanced at me, "when Remington died. She pulled out a pair of dark glasses from a red pouch at her waist. "Through these, I saw the whole thing, and unfortunately, I saw who killed Remington."

Should I believe her? Well, I didn't really have a choice at this point. "Who was it?"

She turned away from me. "You."

My brain swam through molasses, trying its hardest to comprehend what she said. "But, that's impossible...there...there was another person..."

"Yeah, Jon. Remington shrugged Jon off right before. Then, he pushed Jon into David, who actually landed a hit. You didn't stab Jon..."

I stared at my hands. Half of me cried out that I shouldn't believe her; that this was all lies. But the other half knew I couldn't live in denial any more: I had known this all along. "I killed Remington, then?"

"I'm sorry."

"And Andrew?"

"He's dead too, most likely, if you guys lost him." She kicked the dirt. "The mobile camera will be here any second. I know this selfish, but I need to put on a good show. I'll have to kill you." She handed me my sword.

My hands shook as I limply took the blade from her. She took a few steps and turned to face me. For a few awkward seconds, I sat staring at the blade.

I heard a skitter, and seconds later, a small squirrel came into view.

"So, Eric, do you want revenge?" Evidently, the scene had started. "As if you can take me. Once I'm done with you, I'm going to finish off David as well." I'm sure she was smiling, but I merely continued to stare at the blade I had killed my friend with.

"Come at me then." She threw out her arms.

I didn't make a move.

"Fine. Get ready!" My body seemed to move on its own, dodging her outstretched knife. It then backed up and limply swung the sword at her. She leapt backwards, and our eyes made contact.

Although her body feigned a bubbly stance, her eyes betrayed her character. They pleaded for me to play along, to try and kill her, to put on a good show.

I shook my head in denial.

"I'm not playing your game, Mia." I turned towards the camera. "Everybody, she-"

She elbowed me in the arm. I dropped my blade. She picked it up and stabbed me through the chest.

I tried to talk and finish my sentence, but my breath left me, not from my mouth, but from the newly formed hole in my chest.

I collapsed to the ground; warm blood squished beneath me. I tried to hold my eyes open, grasping onto consciousness like sand in my fingers. Mia blocked out the glare of the sunset above me. She shook her head and mouthed something I couldn't make out. A small tear dropped on my face. She turned around, calmly strolling back towards David's location.

Good luck.


	20. Chapter 20: Mia's Character

**Author's Note: Hello everyone, thank you for reading, subscribing, and especially reviewing. I wanted to tell you guys my schedule for the summer. Starting next week, I'll be taking two weeks off from updating. I will definitely resume posting on Friday, June 22. For the duration of the summer, I will only be posting once a week on Fridays. I'm so busy during the summer so hopefully this extra time I'm getting will ensure the quality of the story. Thank you so much for allowing me to pour my unconscious onto you, and avoid reality. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>-David: Day 4 of the Hunger Games-<p>

The cannon boom pierced my unconscious, thrusting me back into reality.

After I forced my eyes open, I grabbed onto my throbbing head, and surveyed my surroundings. Everything stood motionless and silent expect the gentle rustle of trees and the chirping of birds getting ready for sleep. I lifted myself onto my feet. To my right, the logs I ran away from had utterly destroyed the slope; they cracked the spine of every tree and flattened the bushes. Thankfully, I had dove into this small hovel, and avoided a similar fate as the foliage. Although, that didn't stop the rolling tree from pushing debris into the pit, knocking me out.

I dusted myself off, and ran my hand through my hair. Although it hurt, nothing was bleeding. Hopefully, the debris didn't do any damage, besides knocking me out. Once I made sure everything was intact, I set off running.

_Mia will, no doubt, try to finish the job_. I thought to myself.

While I was unconscious, the sun had finally set. In its place, an unusually bright moon bathed the forest in light. With the aid of this unnatural light, I avoided the tangle of roots and bushes that littered the ground. For now, I needed to find a defendable area.

A jaunty tune began to blare above me. The Capitol anthem played, and the shining death list augmented the already bright sky. As I ran, tree branches flashed across my vision, but I still had a full view the faces looking down on me. The first two pounded into my head harder than any piece of debris could.

"District 4: Andrew. District 5: Eric. District 12: Shelby."

_First Remington. Then Andrew. Now Eric. Everyone I had teamed up with was now dead. Remington was probably killed by Eric. Should I have told him? Andrew was swept away by the Capitol. Should I have said something? Eric has probably been killed by Mia. She says she killed them all. Should I believe her?_

_This isn't the Mia I know. From the slums of the district to training in the Capitol, she was always one the nicest people. Though she's a bit weird, of any one I met, she probably has the best moral character._

That crazy person isn't Mia.

I thought back to the time we trained together. I wondered if she said something to tip me off.

* * *

><p>-David: 4 Days until the Hunger Games-<p>

She hopped backwards and crossed her arms, narrowly avoiding stabbing herself with the knives in her hands. "Come on, David. I know you're not trying. How are we gunna get better if you don't even fight your hardest? This is training–"

_Fine, you asked for it._

I gripped my wooden bludgeon and lunged at her. Judging from the slight delay in her reaction, I surprised her. That small hesitation was all I needed. With just enough force to cause her pain, but not enough to bruise her, I jabbed at her hands, forcing them to release the knives.

"Ow!"

She leaned backwards, but before I even heard the knives hit the floor, I swung the mace at her, stopping it an inch from face. Her eyes froze upon the weapon for just a moment, but momentum took over, and she continued to fall backwards, eventually hitting the floor.

She looked up at me. "Are you cheating? I'm pretty sure you are...somehow..." She jumped off the floor and picked up her knives.

I shook my head.

She glared at me. "How are you so good at this? It's totally unfair."

I shrugged my shoulders at her.

"Whatever, I still have a few days to get better. And besides," she held up her knife and aimed it at a nearby target, "I not too bad at this." She released the knife from her fingers and, while not exactly perfect, the knife did lodge cleanly into the second ring of the target.

"What do you think?"

I nodded my head approvingly.

She punched me in the arm. "You should, like, talk some more, you know? I didn't even notice you in the District, and the judges won't notice you now. You have to stand out: that's what my advisor said.

"Besides," she smiled at me, "you're pretty cool, and you're a nice guy. You just need to get more people to notice you."

I was about to shrug my shoulders in response, but I feared getting hit again. "Thank you." I could feel the warmth heading to my cheeks in embarrassment.

"No prob. I'm done for now. Do you want to go sit down and get something to eat?"

"Sure."

"I've been craving frozen yogurt all day. Ever since I tried it on the way here, that's all I want. It's addicting or something."

I stared at her. "Um...yeah, it's pretty good." I had never tried it before.

We walked past all of the other candidates to the corner of the room. By the door, a small bell sat on a doily in the center of a table. Mia picked up the bell and rang it.

From the door, a small Avox girl appeared and bowed to us.

Mia waved at her. "Hi, I'll have a salad and some of that frozen yogurt stuff." The pale girl nodded, and with piercing eyes, she turned to me, expectantly.

"Um...the same."

She bowed once again and walked out the door.

Mia turned to me. "Are you a vegetarian, too?"

"Uh...no."

"Oh, well do you know anyone in the livestock District?"

"Yeah." Leaning against the wall, I observed the other candidates. Most of them trained in pairs, though oddly, not always from the same District

"Who?"

"I know this guy named Remington. He talks about ponies a lot so I guess he's from the livestock district."

"Hmmm, I would like to meet him and ask him a few questions." Mia ran a hand through her long brown hair. "I feel bad ordering the yogurt if it came from farms that treat the animals badly." She frowned. "How can we decry the Capitol for putting us all in an enclosed space and slaughtering us, if we do the same thing?"

The door reopened, saving me the embarrassment of trying to respond to her. The small Avox girl carried out two dishes. She stood with perfect posture, but I was still afraid that the weight from the large dishes would topple her over.

Mia took one dish out of the Avox's hands and walked towards a table. The girl laid out the other plate for me to take. For a moment, our eyes met. Her sparkling blue orbs were amazing compared to my dull brown ones. I was usually pretty good at discerning emotions though eyes, but I couldn't tell what emotion she had, if she was experiencing one at all.

I opened my mouth to speak, to say something nice, but decided that she probably didn't want to talk to some tribute, and I wordlessly accepted the plate.

"David, come on!"

"One sec..." By the time I turned back, the Avox girl was gone. I shook my head and walked to the table where Mia sat.

"So, David," she whispered to me, "what's your plan for the Games?"

I glanced around us, but the only other ones in the area were two loud nerdy guys who were overly absorbed in their own conversation.

I avoided Mia's direct gaze. "Well, I've been talking with a group of guys. We think we're going to team up."

"Are they good?"

My mind drifted to an obsessed Remington, an equally weird Eric, and the full out crazy Andrew. "Well..."

Mia stabbed her yogurt and took a bite. "Then, why are you teaming up with them?" _You are certainly direct when you feel like it._

I rubbed my arm. "They may be slightly odd, but they're funny, and they are really nice people." I attempted to redirect the subject. "Do you have a plan?"

"I've been talking with my advisor. We have something planned." She winked. "I have to keep it secret, though."

_From me?_"Interesting."

"Yup!" She threw down her fork; she completely demolished her salad in the time we spent talking. "Now, hurry up. We have training to do!" She grinned at me.

I smiled back at her.

* * *

><p>-David: Day 4 of the Hunger Games-<p>

Panting heavily, I stopped in a small circular clearing. The moonlight poured across the center of the circle; the whole thing was no more than twelve feet across. The trees bordering the area created an interesting contrast: an incredibly bright center, but pitch black darkness surrounding it. I leaned against a tree, covering myself in its shadow. I hoped that I had put enough distant between Mia and me.

_Mia. Suddenly, though you didn't never display any sign of insanity, you are now completely crazy. You claimed to have killed people who I know you didn't kill. You are laughing manically like a villain out of bad fiction. What are you trying to tell me?_

"You have to stand out: that's what my advisor said."

"I've been talking with my advisor. We have something planned."

"Yup, that was me. Doesn't it make this fight so much more interesting?"

I snapped my fingers. It dawned on me. _That's exactly what you're doing, Mia, making it interesting for them. You're putting on an act for the Capitol, becoming a character. But, you only have to stay in character as long as someone watching you. You need to know where the cameras are. That's why you twirled!_

I glanced around me. When you actually know what you're searching for, it is so much more obvious to find. I could see two shiny glass eyeballs observing me on the trunks of trees. Each reflected a glare from the moonshine.

Using the butt of my short mace, I broke the two cameras. After taking a second look, I found one more and did the same to it.

_Mia, come find me. It will just be you and me, now. You won't have to be in character for this scene._

* * *

><p>-Mia: Day 4 of the Hunger Games-<p>

_Five knives left._

Will it be enough?

I wondered if I could even kill him.

_If I had the element of surprise, maybe I could. Even then..._

I shook my head and continued to sprint, following his obvious trail. From the impact of the rolling logs, there was a distinct disturbance of plants that snaked into the forest. Thankfully, the bright moon gave me the ability to track it easily.

Hearing a small rustle, I flung a knife into its direction. My eyes followed its trajectory and both landed right beside a small squirrel, which remained oblivious of the projectile sent by its side. I reached down to retrieve the blade and heard the squirrel's familiar whir of internal gears. It's a mobile camera.

"Awww. Aren't you cute?" _So, they are just keeping you at my side._

I stared at the fake sky. _What? Have I wandered off one too many times? Are you just giving me a baby sitter now?  
><em>  
>Out of somewhere, a desire surfaced in me. I wanted to kill it. I really wanted to kill it. I wanted to stab it over and over again until I could hold it open for the entire world to see how fake it is.<p>

I kept running and the animal followed. I glanced back at it.

_You're a monstrosity, a product of these Games. Do you know that? On the outside, you're just putting on a show us, but on the inside you're something completely different. Nobody sees it, but me. You're a fake. Why do you deserve to live in the world filled with real people?  
><em>  
>I tried to ignore the pitter patter of paws, and kept running. I threw off my bag. I didn't care what was in it; it was only slowing me down. Beneath me, the trail seemed fresher. I was nearing him.<p>

_Do I have to fight him? Well, I told everyone that I had killed Remington and Andrew. I had to kill Eric. It only makes sense to finish the whole group. There has to be a climax to this arc. I built the set-up here, and the only logical conclusion to this part of the story is for me to fight him. If I tried anything different, the audience would not be happy with me._

But, could I do it?

* * *

><p>-David: Day 4 of the Hunger Games-<p>

I closed my eyes, hoping to open my other senses. After a few long minutes of silence, I picked up the small pitter patter of feet.

_Well, it's now or never._

I shouted in the direction of the sound. "Mia! I'm here. Let's talk." The light of the moon worsened with my night vision, but nevertheless, I squinted into the dark.

My instincts took over as I sensed motion from the darkness, diving to the side as two knives passed where my head had once been. I backed up to the other side of the circle.

Mia's silhouette appeared, and separate from her body, her face came into the light first. The moon made her face a ghost white apparition.

"Mia, there are no more cam–" A small squirrel hopped out into the white circle of light, its eyes the same glass spheres as the cameras. "Damn."

Though her face was completely expressionless, her eyes displayed a sadness I had never seen from her before. I stared at them.

Out of the darkness where her body should have been, another knife was sent hurling towards my chest. I dove out of the way, but because of the short distance between us, the knife managed to slide against my arm. A small trail of blood dripped to my fingers.

The beady eye of the squirrel zoomed in on the gash. My only shot at getting Mia to talk to me was by destroying the thing.

I dove at it.

The squirrel hopped out of my reach. Mia burst from the shadows, pointing both of the knives in her hands at my chest.

I rolled in the opposite direction as both knives plunged into the soft ground. Out of the way, I grabbed the mace with both hands and swung at her hands. Evidently, she had gotten a bit better: my mace only hit one hand.

She shrieked and dropped the knife in her left hand. Taking the opportunity, I lunged for her other hand. Like a feral cat, she leapt backwards and glared at me. Tears dripped from her face. I couldn't tell if they were from pain or sorrow.

I lowered my weapon. "Mia, I'm–"

That small hesitation was all she needed. I tried to dodge, but she sliced my arm, forcing me to drop my mace. Before I even heard the mace hit the ground, she swung the knife at me, stopping it an inch from my eyes.

* * *

><p>-Mia: Day 4 of the Hunger Games-<p>

I stretched out my arm, putting the greatest distance I could between me and what I was about to do.

He looked up at me. "Mia, you don't have to do this."

I stared at him.

_Was he right? Maybe this could be avoided. I didn't have to kill him. I could team up with him. We could win this together. We would be unstoppable._

Everyone's watching though. Everyone has such high expectation from me. They want me to be perfect, a flawless character who follows their commands and expectations. They couldn't stand any deviation from the norm.

But, he's your friend. He's a nice person. He has done nothing wrong to do you, ever. He just wants to help. You're being selfish.

Does it matter if I'm selfish? I'm trying to live. The only way I can win is with their support. The story needs him to die. They need him to die. You have to do this. You're merely an actress in a play. You have no choice.

You have a choice. It's your life. Do something.

I grabbed my hair and screamed. "Shut up! Shut up!"

_This whole IB Program. Everyone is watching me. Everyone is expecting things from me. It's so difficult. Am I just a toy? What do I do?_

Out of the corner of my eye, David snagged his mace off the ground and smashed the squirrel. Even though he got away from my knifepoint, the voices screaming in my head distracted me; I didn't care.

I smiled.

_That's it.  
><em>  
>I giggled to myself.<p>

_It's beautiful. So simple. Why didn't I think of it before?  
><em>  
>All I have to do is stop caring.<p>

_About David. About my life. About keeping up this whole facade._

All I have to do is stop caring!

_Everything is so much simpler now. I finally found the solution! I win. _

"Hahahahahahahaha!"

* * *

><p>-David: Day 4 of the Hunger Games-<p>

That laugh chilled me to the bone. There was something different about it; it was more sincere than before.

"Mia, you don't have to put on an act any more. Look." I held up the crushed squirrel. "There are not more cameras."

Mia twirled around and laughed. I stared at her. Her eyes had lost their soul. "David, I don't care anymore!" She laughed once again.

I started backing away. "Mia, let's just talk. We're friends remember."

She faced me and pulled out her knife. "I don't care about you. I don't care about anyone." She giggled and stared at her blood which dripped off the blade. "That feels so good to say!"

_What happened to you, Mia?_"If you don't care, then why kill me?"

She flicked the blood off the blade and watched the droplets arc across the clearing, landing across my face. "I don't know why, it just seems like the right thing to do now."

She bounced across the gap, arm outstretched, one last knife at the end.

I wanted to parry, dodge, run, scream, do something, but my body did not obey my commands.

She plunged the knife into my chest, and just as quickly, wretched it out, standing back to watch me. I held onto the wound, futilely trying to keep the blood in my body. She shoved me to the ground and laughed. Mia finally won.

_No, that's wrong. This wasn't Mia anymore. The Capitol turned her into this inhuman thing.  
><em>  
>As darkness encroached on my vision, I looked up at her one last time.<p>

She smiled at me and waved. "Good night!"


	21. Chapter 21: Thinking

-Evan: Day 5 of the Hunger Games-

"Shouldn't you be working? You've done nothing all day besides lounge about."

No response.

"You were assigned, like, a mountain of stuff to do. You have had plenty of time to relax. Now, don't you think it's about time you get to work? You can't delay it forever.

Still nothing.

"Answer my questions! Hello, are you just ignoring me?" _Evidently yes._

I couldn't tell if he was pretending to sleep to make me go away or if he actually had collapsed from all the stress. Sighing, I knelt down and poked his soft, bunny rabbit cheeks.

"Hello. I'm talking to–Ah!" I scrapped my finger from Chau's clenched mouth. "You bit me!" Chau bounced up from underneath the covers to watch my torment, and I stuck my finger in my mouth to suck away the pain. "Who the hell bites people? I think you need some kind of muzzle or something." He laughed.

I popped the finger from my mouth to check for blood, but thankfully, nothing was there. "You're lucky. If you drew blood, I would have drew you an obituary. Um, drawn you an obituary...written you an obituary. You know, after I killed you." He stared at me. "Just, sh-shut up."

"I didn't say anything."

"You haven't done anything either. Oooooo, what now?" He continued to stare at me. "You were supposed to go get us all water and hunt us some food. But, that didn't get done, did it?"

He waved his hand. "It's fine. Katlyn told me I had until sundown."

"Ahem." I pointed to an almost completely dark sky.

"Oh shit." He flew from his blankets and began running in circles. "Okay, so water. There is water in trees, right? All I have to do is crush this tree with my bare hands, and there's enough water for all of us." Both the speed of his talking and his walking grew exponentially. "Good, now food. Let's see. Food. Food. Food. Ah! There we go." He snapped his fingers. "We eat Katlyn. She looks healthy enough, so she's probably really nutritious. I've cooked scrambled eggs before. How different can it be?" He bunched up his blanket and tossed it toward me. "Here, take this. You'll run up behind her and I'll-"

Assuming as that was, I decided it was time to stop him. I inserted myself into the circumference of the circle that he was digging into the ground and held out my hand until his face slammed into it.

He rubbed his nose. "Owie. You interrupted my thought process."

"I already did your chores for you. I found some water in a nearby pond, and hunted the hell out of a blueberry bush."

"Oh, thanks."

I stared at his smiling face. "It took me forever to find that pond, not that it really matters. Katlyn wants us to move one more time before we go to bed. Hurry up, she is waiting for us."

"Rawr."

"Rawr?"

"This is fifth time we moved today. Why is she so paranoid?"

"Um, the fact that we are in a game, battling others to the death with a group of deadly careers out to get us, seems like a pretty good reason to be paranoid."

He gathered up his blankets and shoved his miscellaneous items in the middle. "Oh come on. Out of anyone here, she has the most plot-armour."

"Uh, plot-armour?"

"Yeah. I'm sure the head Gamemaker, as cunning as she is evil, is pulling so many strings all over place that this is less of a competition of our strengths and more of an enhanced play."

"A play where the actors murder each other?"

"An _enhanced _play. Anyways, assuming we are running on the laws of a piece of fiction, the audience won't be happy if their favorite characters die."

I considered it, and he did have a point."Well, the general populace of the Capitol is needy, entitled, and generally annoying."

"Right, to appease the audience, I'm sure the Head Gamemaker will create the show that will make them the most happy. So, we can be secure in the knowledge that Katlyn, one of the most interesting people in the games, won't die anytime soon. Plot-armour. Q.E.D., bitch."

I scratched my chin. "Fair enough. There are some holes in your theory though."

"Hmm?"

"We can't be sure if Katlyn has been shown in a positive light or even shown at all. If so, the audience would be indifferent to her death."

"By her interactions with the careers, I'm pretty sure she has been on screen plenty, and as for how she is being portrayed; it doesn't really matter. The audience wants a good villain to stay alive as much as a good hero. Well, up until the end of course."

I nodded. "True. True. But, how do you account for–?"

An angry voice came out of nowhere. "Evan!"

Chau and I yelped in unison. Less due to the surprise and more from the tongue lashing we knew that was coming.

I spoke out first. "Um, Katlyn. I was just coming back. Chau was just...wait a second!" I turned to Chau. "Oi, did you deliberately distract me long enough for Katlyn to come get us?"

Chau merely smiled and shrugged.

* * *

><p>-Katlyn: Day 5 of the Hunger Games-<p>

"Stupid hair." I said out loud as I flicked the bushy bundle back into a ponytail. Neither of the boys paid me any attention.

Evan's footsteps slowed, dropping behind me to talk to Chau. "So, you had a nice nap then, Chau?"

"Well, it was fine. You're not going to get the best sleep ever when you're lying on dirt...or when you're being interrupted five times a day." I assumed that Chau directed that last comment at me.

"I've told you guys four times already. We have to keep moving or that group of careers is going to find us again." I rolled my eyes. "You'll have time to nap when you win or when you're dead."

Chau sped up and put his hand on my shoulder. "Really, Katlyn? Do you think that's funny? Is this a joke to you?"

_When did he become so serious?_

I could barely stammer out an answer: "Um, well, I didn't think you would..." He scowled at me.

But then, he and Evan broke out laughing once again. "Naw, I'm just kidding. I don't really care."

_Why am I with these guys again?_

"Oi, Patrick!" Evan called out, in between the residual giggles. "You packed up?"

In his hand, Patrick had a backpack, hphazardly stuffed with all of his items. He slung the bag on his shoulder and ran towards us. "Um, yeah. I think so."

Evan pointed eastward. "Alrighty then. If everyone's ready, I am officially declaring that we leave for our next destination." Chau and Patrick rolled their eyes and walked past him.

As I brushed past him, I pinched his cheeks. "Awww, you're so cute when you try to lead and stuff."

After a moment's delay, he flinched wildly. "Woman, off of me. I'm doing manly things. Like lifting heavy objects and sweating."

"Babe, that bag's like fifty pounds. That's nothing."

Evan crossed his arms and pouted towards the ground. "Well, I think it's heavy."

I tussled his hair and dragged his arm forward. "Why are you so adorable? It's criminal."

* * *

><p>-Patrick: Day 5 of the Hunger Games-<p>

I sighed. "Hurry up you two. If you stop touching each other this would move a lot–"

A jaunty tune interrupted my sentence._ The song isn't awful the first time around. It has a classical feel of triumph, but when you have to listen to it so much, all of the flaws in the song pound nails in your ears. You would think the Capitol would hire a decent composer to write their anthem not a seven year old with a piano and a bored afternoon._

And yet, Evan and Chau still hummed along with it. The artificial light illuminated my face enough for me to give them an annoyed look.

"What? It's catchy."

Katlyn turned to us. "Boys, shut up and pay attention." Yes, mother.

Above us, the light painted a single portrait across the sky, and after a moment, faded out with the music.

"Awww, poor David."

Katlyn motioned to keep going, but turned to us and asked. "Yeah, I guess, but it leaves us with less people between us and freedom. Today was pretty slow though."

I pulled the backpack up and continued forward. "Yeah, the audience needed a break. I guess."

"So, how many are left?"

Surprisingly quickly, Evan piped up. "I believe there are twelve, including us."

Katlyn hopped over a root on the ground and glanced at us."Let's see if we can count them off then."

"But, but Katlyn," Chau whined from the back, "I only have ten fingers."

Evan grabbed on to Chau's shoulder. "But, Chau, you have no hands."

"I still have the fingers though. Just not the hands."

Katlyn suppressed a laugh and rolled her eyes. "Shut up, both of you. Let's see. To start out there's the four of us."

"There's the group of three careers; Rachel, Zach, and Matt." Evan's eyes darted around like he expected them to be eavesdropping on the conversation.

I tried to break the triangular conversation they were having without me. "I haven't seen this one girl named Savannah so far."

Katlyn furrowed her brow. "Who's she?"

"I met her during training. She didn't look like she was doing all right."

"A crazy, huh?" Katlyn waved her hand dismissively. "They are easy to deal with. They can barely walk straight much less fight."

"Well, I wouldn't say–"

Evan talked right over me. "There's another girl named Mia. I only talked with her for a bit, but she seems really nice. Just a bit weird. Poor girl, out there all alone. She's probably not gunna make it much longer. I just think–"

A flash of motion: Evan tripped on some rocks, but Chau caught him before he face planted. "Evan, you okay?"

Pushing up his glasses, Evan blushed. "Um, yeah. I'm fine. I did that on purpose. I was testing you."

Setting Evan straight, Chau rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure. Anyways, there are also two other guys. Rhett, he's basically blind, and Jacob, he really likes coffee. I met with the two of them. They were pretty cool guys."

Evan eyed him. "Don't get attached. Anyways, we're at eleven. One more."

_What was that girl's name?_ "Um... I think–"

This time it was Katlyn who stomped on my words. "Oh, oh, oh! That one girl. Her name was...Allison! I remember her being just a smidgen lazy."

Evan nodded. "Well, there you go. Twelve people left."

Katlyn smiled, and pounded her fist into her hand. She addressed all of us with a nod of her head as she spoke. "And guys, I think we can do this. It won't be easy. It hasn't been. But now, we're in the homestretch. There are just a few more people between us and victory. We're even the largest group left. I think we can win this thing, together." I smiled at her while Evan just rolled his eyes at the cheesiness of it all.

I turned towards Chau. He was staring at the ground, face blank.

"Chau are you okay?"

* * *

><p>-Chau: Day 5 of the Hunger Games-<p>

Shaking my head, I put a smile back on and looked up at Patrick. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Tired? Hey Katlyn, can we camp here for tonight? Chau's still tired from his interrupted nap."

"I suppose. Do you still-"

Evan tapped my shoulder, and I turned around. He whispered to me: "Chau, are you sure you're okay? You seemed distant there."

"Nothing to worry about. I'm just thinking."

Evan gazed through me. "About?"

_You guys talk like we can all win. Like we will all make it out of here. You said it yourself: 'You don't win by making friends.' Can you face reality? Can I face reality?_

"Nothing much."

"Hmm. Okay. G'nite then."

"Nite."


	22. Chapter 22: Talking

Rachel: Day 5 of the Hunger Games-

_It always bugged me. I don't know why. It doesn't really matter, but I care about the little things. _

I pressed my finger against the hand mirror.

_No matter how much I push, there will always be the tiniest space between the reflection and myself. Why is that there? If mirrors reflect what's on the outside, why is there this space? It's just annoying that's all. _

Relieving the pressure, I removed my finger from the mirror, leaving a small smudge. My vision initially focused on the delicate fingerprint, but widened to my whole face.

I rubbed my left cheek. The Capitol medicine that they left in the Cornucopia did pretty good I guess, but it wasn't perfect. The tissue still scarred, my skin leathery from the burns.

"Stupid, stupid girl." I rubbed more ointment across my face. "If you wouldn't have blown yourself up, my face would have been as pristine as usual. As it is now, it takes more make-up than usual to look decent." I would have minded more, but it was only for a short time.

_The Capitol surgeons can fix me right up when I win. _

And yet, there were still two problems: the boys from District two and, apparently, Katlyn. I was so close to getting rid of Katlyn, but Matt just had to ruin that, didn't he?

After that whole incident, we dragged Matt back to the Cornucopia. I would've left him there; he messed up everything. Everything was going perfectly to plan, but then he just pulls out a jar of tracker jackers. Why? So what if that Shelby girl betrayed us? We could've taken all of them. I could've taken all of them if I had to.

He didn't even apologize. He hasn't said anything since last night. Nobody has. I think it's time for him to explain himself.

I set down the mirror and opened the flap of my tent. Outside, both Zach and Matt were stabbing their food in silence.

I stomped up to them. "Well, is nobody going to say something?"

Zach shrugged. "What's there to say?"

"Um," I crossed my arms. "maybe, Matt can to explain to us what the hell all that mess was about." I swiveled to Matt, who avoided my piercing gaze. "Matt?" He ignored me.

"Matt? Explain yourself!"

Matt jumped from his seat, sending the dishes clattering to the ground. "I didn't do anything wrong. I don't have to explain myself to you."

I took a step backwards. "Yes, you do. You completely lied to us. You had that tracker jacker thing, you knew that Shelby and Katlyn were friends, and finally, you out right killed one of your teammates. That seems like a lot to explain."

Matt took a step forward. "Trust me. I did what I had to do."

"Trust you? After all that you expect us to trust you?" He didn't respond, so I nudged him more. "Yeah, that's what I thought. You're a dirty snake, you know that? Everyone in our group would still be alive if it weren't for you."

"I kept everyone alive out there! If it weren't for me, Shelby and Katlyn would have destroyed us."

"You ruined a perfectly good plan!"

"Guys," Zach inserted himself between us. "Calm down. Nobody is listening. You're just yelling at each other."

I shoved Zach, who remained unfazed. "Get out of my way."

Zach put his hand on my shoulder. "Rachel, calm down"

Flinching, I flung him off me. "Don't tell me to calm down. Get off you're moral high horse. You've just let Matt do this the whole time. How 'bout you stop playing ignorant and actually do something for once?"

Zach glared at me. "What? Stop being his dog and do something."

"Rachel, lay off him." Matt walked around Zach and stared at me.

"So now both of you are against me? Fine, you can have each other. I'm leaving. I'll get the job done that you guys ruined yesterday. Don't follow me." I turned around to get my bag from the tent.

Matt sneered. "Fine, leave. We'll see how you fare against Katlyn."

"Matt, shut up." Zach followed behind me. "Rachel, don't be stupid. It's almost night. Plus, you can't possibly take all four of them even if you did manage find them."

I ducked under the tent flap. The bag sat, waiting to for me, at the other end of the tent. As I stepped forward to grab it, a sharp crack resounded beneath my feet. I lifted my foot up. A few shards of glass clung to my shoes but eventually fell onto the broken mirror. My reflection shattered into different shapes.

It doesn't matter. It's not like I'm coming back here.

I snagged the backpack and burst out of my tent. Of course, they were whispering to each other. Zach noticed me and began walking.

"Rachel, come on. Stop." He caught up to me and grabbed my arm.

Tugging it out of his hands, I turned around and gave him the most evil glare I could make. "Don't. Touch. Me."

I pulled out the pocket knife I keep in my bra and flipped out a blade. I met eyes with him, waiting to see if he did anything. Silent, he took a step backwards.

I whispered to him. "Leave me alone.." Looking at him one last time, I turned and ran.

I don't need them. I can do this on my own. Katlyn won't know what hit her.

* * *

><p>-Matt: Day 5 of the Hunger Games-<p>

"Well, did she leave then?"

"Yeah. She's gone." Zach paused. "Matt, we have to go after her. She's going to get herself killed. All three of us could barely take Katlyn. There's no way she'll be able to do it alone."

"Why should we help her? I'm pretty sure she clearly said that she didn't want us to follow her."

"Seriously, Matt?"

"Hey, if she gets the job done and kills Katlyn: great. If she doesn't: well, nothing of value was lost."

"Matt!"

"What?"

Zach walked up to me. "We can only do this as a team. It doesn't work otherwise."

I spat on the ground. "You're talking like they will let us all win."

Zach shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I'm going to help Rachel, and you're coming with me."

"Fine. I'm not doing this for her, though. If she's going after Katlyn, we'll need as many people as possible to make sure she goes down."

"Yeah, that's what I thought you would say." Zach smiled. "Now, hurry up. Rachel can't have gotten too far." He trotted off to get his weapons.

"Yeah, sure."

_Are you ready, Katlyn? We're all coming for you, but I'm sure you already had thought of that possibility. Nevertheless, when we see you next, someone will die. _


	23. Chapter 23: Hopes and Dreams

-Rachel: Day 6 of the Hunger Games-

The darkness surrounded me like a black onyx: cold, unfeeling, impenetrable. It stretched infinitely, or maybe it barely swallowed me. No stars shown above. No moon either. Though, at this point, the notion of up and down were meaningless. It didn't have the thickness of swimming, but not just floating either. It was more like an unseen force was pushing against all of my actions of free will, but after, it relieved the pressure, allowing me to squirm. Eventually, I stopped struggling for this fruitless endeavor. I floated there for what seemed like a long time, ages and ages passed by me, or it could have been just a few minutes. It so hard to be sure of these things.

I almost gave up hope that anything would happen to me, but a tiny beacon appeared above me. _(I just said I couldn't tell what's up or down, but sometimes, you just know things, you know?) _The ethereal force lifted me towards the light, hopefully taking me to a better place than this boring blackness. As the invisible hand pushed me towards the light, the darkness receded centimeter by centimeter. For a moment, I felt weightlessness and began falling, however, the light picked up where the darkness failed, and carried me into the sun. Maybe I should have been happy that I was going into the light, but it was less like a triumphant victory and more like switching from one master to another. I tried to shut my eyes. It didn't make a difference. The last of the darkness sputtered away, leaving me alone with the brightness. The whiteness surrounded me like a white pearl: cold, unfeeling, impenetrable.

Just as I was about to give up and accept fate once again, the whiteness began to change, a single strand in the center split into the colour spectrum. Wider and wider it grew until the rainbow encompassed the empty void. Apparently, this thing was as tired of the slowness as I was, because it went from a creeping expansion to rapid burst of colours blending into each other wildly. It was kinda disorienting. Eventually, the colours began to settle into their proper places: green on the ground, blue in the sky, yellow in the sun, and finally, there was a streak of peach and bright orange that settled into the form of a girl. Though she was the first to form, other bodies began to form from the meaningless colours. From my aerial vantage point, I counted twenty nine teenagers, motionlessly assembled in a circle around an odd structure. Less gentle than before, the nonexistent hand swatted me towards the ginger girl. I felt like I've stared at her for countless hours, but I couldn't place where I knew her from. Something in my mind was blocking her out. The easiest thing to do is just ask I guess.

"Hey you! Ginger girl, do I know you?"

She ignored me. "What a bitch."

Oblivious, she continued to stare intently to the odd structure in the middle of the circle. I checked the people around her. Surprisingly, I could recognize several others within the circle; there was no block for these people. The other side of the circle was lined with boys: Zach, Matt, Marcus, those two annoying guys from District three. On this side there were the girls: Katlyn, Zoe, Jill, and right next to her was Kate. The only one I couldn't name was this ginger girl. I gave up for a while and examined the girl next to her: Kate. Unlike everyone else, her vision was cast not towards the Cornucopia (that's what that weird structure was!) but downwards to the ground, in thought or sorrow. I'm not sure which. Maybe both.

For some reason, I tilted my head to the sky, expecting something. Sure enough, a speaker crackled and announced: "The Games will commence in three..." The ginger girl next to Kate was making the same pose as me, but quickly refocused on the Cornucopia. Kate took a deep breath, and a tear dripped down her face. Ignoring the crying, the ginger girl stared straight forward.

"Wow ginger girl, do you really not care about this girl right next to you? Sure, she's being really whiny and melodramatic but still..."

"The Games will commence in two..." Isn't it a little redundant to put 'the Games will commence' at the beginning of each one? Kate glanced back and forth, once to the cowering girl to her left and once to the ginger girl, before resuming her downcast gaze. Finally, the ginger girl took notice of Kate. It looked like she wanted to say something to her, but nothing came out of her mouth.

A fire flashed in my head trying to burn away the barrier: I was so close to remembering this girl's name. Libby? Bonni? No, no, no those weren't right.

"The Games will commence in one..." I think it starts with an 'R'. Rebecca? Rose? As I neared my answer, I noticed that a grin unzipped Kate's lips from one side to the other. She tilted forward. What the hell was she doing?

Hands outstretched, Kate began to fall to the earth, and the explosives mines that slept beneath it. Everything shifted into slow motion.

I raised my hands to catch her and opened my mouth to scream. Besides me, Rachel was doing the same.

Simaltaneously, Rachel and I cried out: "Kate!"

"Wait! You're name is Rachel...MY name is Rachel." I was slingshot into Rachel's/my body. After a moment of darkness, I reopened my eyes to see Kate a few feet from the ground. My body knew the hopelessness of trying to rescue her and dove in the opposite direction, but my mind wouldn't listen.

I _wanted_to call out and yell at her: "Stupid, stupid girl. What are you thinking? You are going to kill yourself, and for what? Are you going to save us? Do you think you're helping us? Who the hell gave you the right to kill these people? You're not just hurting them, you're permanently destroying them. Do you think you're life is more precious, or you're ideals are right? Everyone else has feelings and hopes and DREAMS? How dare you crush them in your selfishness?"

But, I couldn't.

Instead, her nose tickled the ground, and immediately, flames engulfed her. From the tiny center, the flames exploded outwards, the red, orange, and yellows once again blending into a force of destructions. I tried to hide my face, but the flames were too quick for me. The fire licked my face and the explosion pushed me backwards. Everything hurt, and I wanted it to stop.

I screamed as loud as I could.

* * *

><p>-Chau: Day 6 of the Hunger Games-<p>

"Evan, Evan. Wake up! I think I heard something." I shook his skinny shoulder.

Evan's brown eyes glanced up from his sleep, and his hand swatted me away. "Chau? It's probably nothing. Let me stay in bed." He then nuzzled himself back in the blanket. I thought of waking Patrick too, but he probably would say the same thing. I sighed and walked back towards the cliffside, leaving the two to go back to sleep.

Wait. Two? Where's Katlyn?

Trying to avoid any unnecessary noise, I crept across the moonlit ground. I circled around the encampment, yet I still couldn't find her. I twinge of worry sparked inside of my mind, but I tried to sedate it; if there's one thing that I know, it's that Katlyn can take of herself.

Thankfully, I didn't have to worry long. After searching a little more, I saw Katlyn sitting by the rocky cliffside, legs hanging off the edge. Silently, she stared at the moon which disappeared frequently into a sea of black clouds.

There was a storm coming.

I deliberately increased the noise my feet made, so as not to surprise her. As soon as I did, she turned towards me. "Hey, honey. I didn't see you there."

"Hi." I waved to her. "Why are you still up? I'm fine to stay on guard until morning."

She waved her hand dismissively. "Thank you, but I'm fine. I just needed some time to think."

I sat down next to her, and swung my feet in the open air. "Are you okay?"

Her eyes turned back to the moon. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You don't look okay."

"Excuse me?" She gave me an annoyed look.

I put up my hands. "Well, well...um, I just meant that after all that stuff with Shelby, it would be okay to feel sad and stuff."

She shook her head. "I'm not sad. In fact," she grew surer of herself, "I'm just angry."

"Angry?"

"I'm angry at Zach, Rachel, and especially Matt. I'm angry at Shelby for being with them in the first place. I'm angry at myself for not finishing the job when I had the chance. And lastly, I'm angry at the Capitol for creating this fake world for us to fight in."

I couldn't come up with a good response so I simply didn't say anything.

"If all of us met each other outside of this pretend world, I'm sure we could be friends. We could learn things from each other and grow. As it is now, we doomed to dance their dance until only one of us is left standing."

The wind around us quieted, as if the world itself wanted to listen to our conversation. I spoke to break the silence. "I wouldn't be too sure about that."

She scoffed. "What? If you think is won't end with all but one of us dead, you're crazier than the people who think that this reality television is reality."

"Well, a voice in the back of my head shouts out constantly, telling me that you guys have to die, or I'll have to kill you, but I still have hope."

"Hope." She rolled her eyes. "Cute. Friendship is magic, right? Are you going to save us all with the power of heart?"

I ignored her. "I think there's a way to resolve all of this where we won't have to kill each other."

"Then, I give you my best wishes, because it would take some god like intervention for that to happen."

The silence resumed. For a few minutes, we sat there in silence, staring at the projection of the moon. It had to be fake. It was way too bright, but it still was pretty.

Katlyn turned to face me. "The careers are after me, aren't they?"

I flicked a pebble off the side of the cliff, sending it tumbling down into the black abyss. "Maybe, but you'll be fine. The Gamemakers won't let you die so quickly."

"I'm not so sure. I have this feeling like they're going to pop up at any moment."

"You'll be fine." I put my hand over her shoulder and hugged her. I didn't noticed before, but the freezing wind got to her. She was ice. At first, she didn't really hug me back, quickly warmed up in both ways and reciprocated my hug.

She smiled and punched me. "Chau, you act like you know everything."

I shrugged. "I don't know everything. I just know what I know."

"Uh huh." She rolled her eyes, and got up. "Now let's head back. I'm sure Evan feels lost without you by his side," she teased.

"Ma'am, just what are you implying?"

Her smile seemed to brighten the night. "Nothing. Nothing at all."

* * *

><p>-Rachel: Day 6 of the Hunger Games-<p>

I grabbed my heart in attempt to silence its beating. My panting forced it back and forth. A crystal tear dropped from my face onto one of my nails. What was once perfect now was scratched and broken. I wiped my face of the tears.

I whispered to myself. "Oh god. Oh god. Get a hold of yourself, Rachel. It was just that dream again. It's not real." I collapsed onto the hard dirt which I had been sleeping on and spat out the dust in my mouth.

Another drop fell upon the ground in front of me. Confused, I wiped my eyes again. Relentless, three more drops splat on the ground. I traced their trajectory into the sky. Above me, storm clouds gathered, ready to drown everyone in their tears.

As I stared into the sky, a streak of motion caught my eye. Two figures, one female and one male rose from the cliffside. Only the silhouettes were visible, but that's all I needed: that bushy hair could only belong to Katlyn. They were probably a few hundred feet away.

"Okay, Rachel. You can do this. You don't need anyone."

The rain began to fall down in earnest.

"Katlyn won't know what hit her."


	24. Chapter 24: Rain

-Patrick: Day 6 of the Hunger Games-

"Patrick..."

Upon hearing my name, I began to scrape myself from the depths sleep: progress was slow. Below me, there was some inaudible noise and, again, someone mumbled out my name. I forced my eyes open. A muted assortment of foliage and branches replaced the blackness. In my sleepiness, I swayed, causing the branch beneath me to rumble. A little more carefully, I tipped over the side of the branch I had slept on, to see Evan twelve feet below me, rolling around in a sleeping bag.

"Patrick..." _I don't think he's actually awake. Why the hell is he calling out my name in his sleep? _"Patrick... Make me some pancakes." Of course.

Evan rolled over once again, now mumbling his words into the oblivion of the blanket. I sighed. After that, I guessed I wouldn't be getting back to sleep tonight.

_Sleeping unprotected on the ground? There are like fifty ways that could end badly. That's why I choose to sleep in the safety of the trees. An underground cave system would be better, I suppose, but we have yet to find one of those yet._

A fat droplet of water plopped on my stomach. At least underground, the rain couldn't get us. While the canopy of this aspen did well to protect me against the rain, it won't last long: the storm grew in strength every breath. Between the storm and the darkness, I tried to gaze out into the rest of the forest, but failed at seeing anything: just a view like television static.

Yet my bat-like hearing allowed me to detect that which can't be seen. Speaking of, a few crunching steps alerted me to a new presence. I was about to descend from above, taking out the foreign assailant, but as he revealed his identity by speaking, I calmed down.

"Hey slut, if you don't get up I'm going to punch you." Yup, Chau.

Evan's voice changed from sleepy grogginess to full alert. "Um, why slut?"

Chau's footsteps quieted as he sat down. "What?"

"Slut."

"What? I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You just...I heard you..." Evan sighed. "Why do I even try anymore?" The two paused. In the absence of talking the rain seemed louder than before. More droplets pierced the tree line, plummeting on top of the two of them. "I'm obviously up now. What'd you need, Chau? And where's Katlyn?

"Isn't the rain great?" Chau exclaimed loudly.

Evan's voice dropped to a whisper. "Shhhhh! Where's Katlyn? I don't like it when someone's missing. And no, I don't think rain is so great.

Do they even remember that I am here? Forgotten again I suppose. Should I tell one of them or make a noise? Naw, if they forgot about me, then they don't deserve to know. They forget that I am the eyes and ears of the night. I am everywhere and nowhere. I am-

"Rain's great. You jelly." Chau jumped up and walked out of the protective canopy into the rain. "Katlyn says she heard something. She went to go check it out.

"Okay, if she doesn't return in a few minutes you get to go find her. Anyways, jealous of the rain? Yup, that has to be it. I'm actually a little nervous of it."

"Mmmmmmm...rain."

"Chau, pay attention. I'm trying to prove to myself that I'm smart. Don't you know rain symbolism?" Evan took a breath." There's a three options. One: it symbolizes tears in which case there is someone out there who is crying or we ourselves are to become really sad about something. Two: mass elimination and destruction. If this is true, then a lot of people are not going to be here by morning. Three: plain death, the blanket of death is going to drape across an individual." He released the breath.

I'm pretty sure Chau was spinning at this point. "Or it could just be rain."

"Humph...that's boring. Everything needs to be analyzed."

"Then, obviously you don't understand rain." Chau's wet clothes slapped together as he returned to the tree canopy.

Evan crossed his arms and slumped against the tree. "I don't understand you."

Chau's voice sank from his usually peppy tone. "I don't understand me either."

_I was beginning to get a little nervous. Maybe, they did need a little privacy...__  
><em>  
>For once, Evan's voice sounded sympathetic. "Oh come on, Chau. You're you. How do you not know you?"<p>

"I don't know me. I'm just me. I don't have to think about it." The rain beat deep down into the earth.

"Fine, I know you. You're always funny, smart (when you feel like it), weird (in the best way possible), you don't care what others think about you, you just do what makes you happy." He paused. "You're a good guy."

I swear I could hear the smallest smile out of Chau's voice. "If you say so."

"I know so." And then, Evan mumbled something I couldn't make out.

"Thank you."

Evan got up from the tree. "Um...anyways, why don't you go find Katlyn? She's been gone for a while now."

"Um, yeah. I'll be back in a few." Chau wandered off in the direction of the field.

I sorta felt like a creeper, listening to their whole conversation, but at this point I can't just stroll down there and claim I didn't hear anything. Something had to happen for me to justify making an appearance.

Unfortunately, something did happen.

While I contemplated my next actions, Evan sighed and stretched, leaning himself against the tree, head occasionally looking in the direction that Chau left. My attention devised between my own thoughts and listening to Evan mope, I didn't notice her until it was too late.

"Damn. Where is she?" The voice that spoke was too familiar; that voice sent a wave of fear from my neck, rippling down my spine. I slipped my knife from my utility belt.

Evan yelped out and began blubbering meaninglessly.

"I don't want to deal with you," below me the voice neared to my perch. "You're not worth my time."

I glanced downward from the branch. Wielding a pair of pointy knives, a small girl with bright red hair stepped forward: Rachel. Unlike our previous encounter, she was a mess; hair undone, body covered in dirt and mud, sharp smile forced. Yet, she still looked like she was all too eager to get started with the murder. Evan clattered there, unmoving as she advanced upon him. Idiot.

She took one more step, putting herself directly below me. Her smile grew. "Then again, maybe if I get you screaming, a real threat will come."

I slashed off the rope keeping me to branch, and her eyes shot up at me. "If you consider me a threat, I'll _drop_by."

I descended from the branch, launching myself between the two of them, slashing at Rachel as I went down. My weapon didn't find its target as she leapt away.

As she recovered, she glared up at me. "Really?"

I dove at her, jabbing wildly, but as she parried each blow, it became increasingly apparent my one blade couldn't stand against her two. With each strike, she grew closer to slicing something vital. Her knife shared her taste for blood.

And beside me, Evan hadn't moved; he simply stood there staring at us.

I sent a foot forward into her legs, collapsing her into the ground. With seconds to do so, I turned towards Evan.

"What are you doing? Run! Go get Katlyn and Chau." For a second, his face was blank. "Go!" I shouted. He shook his head, nodded, and scurried off.

"Fine, get the hell out of my way then." Rachel dragged herself from the ground, clutching her arm. Her bangs covered her eyes, cloaking them in shadows.

My ripped a slice through the air. "I'll protect my friends. Just try to get through me."

A grin grew on her face. "Bad choice of words."

_I guess I always knew that I was going to die. From the very beginning, it was always in the back of my head. A side character that is ignored doesn't get to be the winner. But, if I am going to die, I'm going to do it protecting someone._

She grinned as I dove at her.

* * *

><p>-Katlyn: Day 6 of the Hunger Games-<p>

"Chau, I'm sure I heard something." Chau looked at me inquisitively. "Don't give me that look. I'm not crazy." The rain poured on both of us.

He raised his finger to respond, but his head turned to an incoming flurry of steps. He readied himself, and I pulled out my sword.

To our confusion, it was Evan who sprinted towards us. He tried to speak as he neared us.

Deep gasps interrupted his words. "Ra-...Ra-..."

I held his shoulder. "What?"

He pointed back to camp. "Rachel." A cannon shot broke the night like a thunderclap.

"Come on. We have to-"

Less than thirty feet from us stood the small form of a girl, rain drenched, but still smiling.

"There you are."


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25:

-Katlyn: Day 6 of the Hunger Games-

"What the hell did you do with Patrick?" I called out against the pouring rain.

"It was his fault really; that idiot didn't just run to you when he could." The darkness and rain united into a cloak around her, transforming her into less of a girl and more of a talking collection of shadows. Yet, her beaming smile seemed to pierce the darkness. "You're Katlyn, right? We're the only girls left, you know."

"Allie's still out there, duh." _Maybe, I can keep this girl talking and give these guys time to run away again. _Evan snuggled into the space between Chau and me, hiding himself. I glanced at Chau and tilted my head in the opposite direction of Rachel, hoping that he would take the message to run.

Chau shook his head and clenched his fist. _Just let me handle this, you idiot. _

The form drew closer – details being revealed with each step. She had two long knives hidden within her drenched shirt. Her mouth broke the smile. "Do you just have to be right all the time?"

"Maybe everybody around me is wrong." I turned to Chau one last time and gave him one last chance to flee with Evan.

Once again Chau shook his head and turned towards Rachel, fists at the ready. _When you decide to do something, you're at least persistent._

"A little conceited, don't you think?" She stood less than ten feet from us; her hand groped under her shirt.

_Fine then, there's no point in drawing this out any longer then. But, Evan still here's and Rachel's fast approaching._

My fingers crept to my sword hand. Chau glanced at me and then to Evan. Evan's head popped up besides my head like a butterfly on my right shoulder. I smiled as an idea also popped in my head.

My right hand griped the hilt of my sword, and I bent my left foot upwards, placing it against him. "What are you—"

_Sorry, but bye bye. _

Rachel revealed both of her knives and her hands swept towards them.

"Argh!" I drew my sword, and forced my foot against Evan, launching myself forward, but every force has an equal and opposite reaction. The same kick flung him backwards, out of harm's way. Rachel drew her knives, but I already swung at her. While barely a scratch by my standards, the sword tip drew a red gash across her thigh. The red quickly transformed the gash into a creek of blood.

She cursed and hopped backwards. A streak of yellow flew past me, and Chau pounced upon her. The silver of the blade whizzed behind, beside, and above Chau, but never made contact. Chau sent a few kicks to trip her, every time she hopped to dodge. He did manage to land a few punches around her arm and chest.

I moved forward to stab, but with Chau bouncing around like a kid with way too much candy, there was too much of risk to strike him. I began to circle around her and sent a few jabs, which were met with an equal powered block.

The wide open field provided Rachel with ample space to slowly move herself backward, and mud beneath us made every attack a gamble of staying steady: a gamble which Chau eventually lost.

* * *

><p>-Chau: Day 6 of the Hunger Games-<p>

I stretched out my leg for a kick, but made a slight overestimate of the soft ground. The mud gave out under my left foot, stretching each of my legs into a different direction, and I flopped backwards. My fingers splashed through puddle and sank into mud as I tried to catch myself from falling backwards. Slowing to halt, my small sigh of relief reversed into a gasp as I bent my head forwards to look at a two knives pointed into my stretching belly.

As Rachel reared back her two steel fangs to strike, rain dripping from the tips like poison, Katlyn's steel blade glided above my field of vision and rammed into the knives. While still technically a parry, the force of the short-sword sent the tips of the knives to pierce her clothing, barely kissing her flesh. Taking the opportunity of disorientation, I flipped back upright, and swatted one of the blades from her hand. I cast the silver fang into the sticky ground. Rachel tried to repost from her parry forcing both Katlyn to hop backwards.

With some distance between us, we all took a chance to rest; each of us tired and gasping for breath. Katlyn flicked her sopping wet hair, which had stuck itself across her left eye. I clenched and extended my bloody knuckles. Rachel gripped her knife with both hands and once again charged forward to strike.

Less versatility in her swings just left Rachel jabbing at any movement and attempting to dodge any attacks without purpose or strategy. Yet, by this period I was growing sluggish, and my attacks grew equally haphazard. If Katlyn was as tired as us, she didn't show it. She lugged the short sword into Rachel in every opportunity. And eventually, through a confluence of events, she made contact.

Evidently fed up with the duration of the fight, Katlyn pushed herself into one last strike for Rachel's head. Katlyn raised the blade above her head, and sent a vertical strike at Rachel's skull, centered on her temples. Snakelike almost, Rachel's head moved first, with her shoulders following, barely escaping the steel. Her arm and fingers weren't as swift; they lagged behind and lost the seconds they needed to escape. A bloody trail grew on her arm to match her leg.

Weaponless, leaking blood, and exhausted, Rachel's red legs collapsed under her, and she knelt on the ground. Katlyn walked up to her and pointed the sword at the spot where she previously missed. The rain still poured upon them, trying to wash away Rachel's red hair into the mud the same way it washed away the blood. Eyes unblinking, even as the rain plopped into her face, Rachel gazed up at the tip of the sword.

It was finally done.

* * *

><p>-Katlyn: Day 6 of the Hunger Games-<p>

I smiled. "Well, you thought you could beat us. Wrong again I suppose."

"I would have killed you if—"

"No no no. No talking. And, what happened to those little boy-toys of yours. Finally figured out you're a clinger and ditched you?"

"Shut up, you—!" I inched the tip closer to her nose, and she immediately quieted.

"Yeah, I'd be a little more polite if I were you, princess, with this thing pointed at you and all. You're in desperate need of an attitude adjustment, and what better time to give it to you than after you tried to kill us." Chau rose from the ground and began to wash as much dirt from his clothes as possible. I wasn't even sure whose blood dripped off his hand. I tapped Rachel's cheek in the direction of Chau. "See what you did? Tell him you're sorry."

Chau looked at me and glared. "Katlyn, I'm fine. Stop it."

I twirled the point in his direction. "Come on. He's waiting."

Rachel shook her head and spat into the growing bloody puddle. I rested the blade on her nose. "Do. It."

She gritted her teeth and mumbled intelligibly.

"Hmmm? I didn't quite hear that."

She looked like she tasted slugs in her mouth. "I…I…I'm sorry, Chau."

Chau looked at her and smiled. "Thanks. It's fine. Just some cuts. Evan can patch us both up."

I took the blade from her face. "Haha, as if. Anyways, we have things to do. So, off with your head and all that stuff."

"Wait!" Oddly enough, both Chau and Rachel screamed in unison.

Rachel followed first. She sputtered out her words. "P-p-please. Don't. I'll do anything."

"Yeah, I'm sure you would. Now, let's get this over with."

I raised the sword above me.

* * *

><p>-Evan: Day 7 of the Hunger Games-<p>

I opened my eyes to a view of the cloudy sky and moon with tiny vessels descending from the sky in order to splash on my face.

Sky: assuming the time zone is correct, and they follow accurate moon patterns, it must be tomorrow. Weather condition: heavy rain still, thunder and lightning confirmed. Mind condition: a little foggy. Body condition?

"Why does everything hurt?"

_Oh yeah, Katlyn. _

I looked around me and saw nothing but a stray lightning strike.

"Katlyn, Chau? Come on, guys. Where are you?" Behind me, someone screamed. "Chau!" Ignoring the dirt, I raced towards the sound. Eventually, I could make out two silhouettes struggling. "Chau, is that you?" Are you okay?"

Katlyn voice screamed. "Chau, let go! Get off me."

_What?_

The scene came into focus. Chau held a blade high above his head, staring unblinkingly at Katlyn, who hopping in attempt to grasp the blade. At their feet, knelt Rachel, sobbing.

"Chau, was that you? What the hell is going on?"

Her endeavor fruitless, Katlyn crossed her arms and glared at Chau. Keeping the blade well out of reach, Chau turned to me. "Dude, that was Rachel screaming. Do you really think I sound like a girl?"

"Um, well…When I heard a scream, I just…"

Chau smiled and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. You were worried. I know."

I stared at the ground. "It's not like I care about you or anything…it's just…well, why are you holding that sword? And, why is Rachel sitting there crying?"

"Well, she—"

Katlyn turned to me. "He thinks we shouldn't kill her. Chau, what's wrong with you?"

Chau finally lowered the weapon, but kept it a safe distance from Katlyn. "It's wrong."

Katlyn turned to him. "Chau, this whole thing is wrong, but we have to do things that are hard in order to get by."

"We don't have to." Chau turned to me. "Evan, patch her up."

"Okay."

Katlyn gave me a disgusted look. "Don't waste your supplies on her. Chau, just give me the sword, and we can be done here."

Chau nodded for me to continue, so I pulled the gauze from my pocket and knelt down next to Rachel. In between incoherent sobbing, she seemed to be muttering something.

"I'm sorry. I'm s-s-so sorry."

Rolling her eyes, Katlyn looked down at Rachel. "Oh yeah, put on the water works for them." She sighed. "Look Chau, there are people in this arena that I'm going to protect: you and Evan, not her. We have to get rid of her. Not only does every second we keep her here increase the chances Matt and Zach are going to show up—"

Rachel broke from my shoulder and looked up Katlyn. "Th-they don't know w-w-where I am. I p-p-p-promise."

"SHUT UP! She killed Patrick, Chau. She said so herself. It's only fair: an eye for eye."

"Leaves the whole world blind!" I had never seen Chau raise his voice, much less scream with this kind of anger. "Katlyn, listen to me. I don't know how yet, but there's a way to solve this whole thing without violence. I know it's hard, but you need to have some mercy. Everybody deserves a second chance. Everybody deserves a chance to go somewhere new, meet new people, and figure themselves out. If a person makes a choice to change, then they should have a chance; a chance for a new beginning. Even if it hurts…even if it hurts a lot."

Chau handed the sword back to Katlyn. She stared at the blade, at Rachel, then finally sheathed it.

I finished putting the gauze on Rachel, and Chau walked to her left to check on her. Feeling left out, Katlyn put her hand on my shoulder on the opposite of Chau and smiled at both of us. "Fine, you know I'll do anything for you guys, but you have to feed her." Rachel looked up at us and let out a strained laugh.

I rose. There was one interpretation for rain I forgot about: redemption. Chau did it. For once, a happy ending.

"Rachel! Get off of her!" A voice shouted behind us. I turned around to see three things: Matt and Zach, and a javelin heading towards me.

Based on the trajectory, it will arrive right into my chest. I closed my eyes. I'm such a coward. I'll spend my last seconds of life in the dark. I knew it was coming. I thought it was going so good too. Well, at least I get to die quickly. And after this, Rachel can explain to Zach and Matt what's going on. It'll be alright. It'll all be okay.

I felt a force push me, but not kill me. Well, where is it? Hasn't it happened now? Shouldn't I be dead? Maybe if I take a peak. Just a peak.

No.

No. No please. No. No. No. I've told you not to protect me. Why? Don't. Do you just have to show us what you're capable of? Please. No.

"Chau!" The javelin was lodged between his ribs, piercing his chest. I held him as he slumped to the ground. The rain poured on us both.

The universe erupted into chaos, a bright lightning struck a tree beside Zach, sending everyone to the ground and creating an inferno to compete with the water.

The fire grew with every passing second, but I didn't care.

"Chau! Chau, come on." He sent out rasps of breath, but still not responding.

"Rachel! Let's go! We have to get out of here. The fire's going to burn down everything." Behind me, the two pulled up Rachel and began fleeing.

"I can fix this." I pulled out the rest of my gauze. "Chau, it'll be okay." My hands shook with tremors, and the gauze dropped into the ocean of blood.

"Evan, let's go." Someone shook my shoulder. I turned to Katlyn.

"Help him, Katlyn! Do something."

She shook her head. "Evan, you're going to burn. There's nothing to do. We have to go." A flaming tree branch fell from the sky and landed, hissing, into a puddle.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Do something, dammit. Help him." He breathing grew labored.

"Evan, we have to go. I let them all go once. I won't do it again. We have to get them."

I grabbed Chau's dangling hand and held it. "Is that all you care about, murder? Fine, get the hell out of here then. I hate you." She stared at me and shook her head, wiping a tear out of her eye. Then, she left.

I looked up towards the sky and screamed; knowing there had to be cameras somewhere. His heart still beat feebly. "Fine, you're in control, okay? If I admit that, will you fix him? I'll do anything. I'll be nicer. I'll talk about how good you are for the rest of my life. Please, I'm begging you. You could do it. Please. Take me instead then. Please. Please…"

Put my cheek against his head. "Fix him please.

A voice mumbled under me. "Isn't a little silly to be screaming for the sky to help you?"

"Chau? It'll be okay. Everything will be okay."

"No, it won't. Everything's going to be different from now on."

"Shut up!"

Chau smiled up at me. "I'm dying here, so you're not allowed to yell at me, okay?"

"You're not dying, Chau."

"I'm pretty sure this hole in my chest would disagree."

I stifled a laugh.

"There we go. Smiling is a bit better, huh?" He coughed and blood splattered on our hands.

I gripped his hand harder. "Chau, don't go. Please, for me."

His smile was warmer this time, or maybe it was the fire around me. "I have to go."

"Please, don't go. Who am I going to spend all my money on? Who am I going to talk to each day about meaningless things? Who am I going to sit next to and make snide comments about people? Who am I going to hit when they do something stupid? Who can I be with all the time and be totally comfortable with, no matter what?"

Tears dripped from my face onto Chau. "Oh, come on. I'm not that great. You'll find someone better than me. All you got to do is go out there and try."

"I don't want to."

"Well, you don't exactly have a choice in that, do you?"

"I guess not."

"And hey, think of me. I'll be all alone out there in a whole new world. I won't know what to do with myself. I mean I barely know what to do with myself now."

"Sorry. I am always selfish, aren't I?"

"Naw. You're way too nice. You should fix that."

I smiled. "Yeah? I hate you, you know that?"

"Hating. Hating. Loving. What the difference?"

"Beats me." The burning flames around me seemed so distant. For a second, we both listened the sound of the crackling.

"Well, it's time to say goodbye."

I shook my head. "No, I'm not letting you. You have no hands. You won't be able to do anything by yourself."

He laughed. "This is true."

"Chau, if you're ever going to answer any of questions, can you answer this one? Will we still be friends?"

"Come on. We'll always be friends."

I hugged him. "Okay. Okay. Goodbye, Chau."

"Bye, Evan" He smiled one last time and settled down for a nap.

He was having a good dream. In the distance, a cannon fired. Around me, the flames closed in. Despite all the fire, I was still cold. So, I sat there, until I felt warm again.


	26. Chapter 26: Revelations and Puppies

-Sabadosh: Day 7 of the Hunger Games-

The shadow of my boss loomed from television monitor in front of me, covering the entire screen in a black shadow. "You're just a string of disappoints; one after the other."

_Shut up. _The tiny control room induced claustrophobia even easier than usual. I sat back in my chair as far as possible from the monitors, avoiding the eyes I knew were watching.

"The excitement of the Cornucopia was ruined with the explosion you failed to prevent. Then, you let open blasphemy live, allowing millions to view what was said. The districts are rising up one by one, and you put that on television!"

_Shut up. _

"You failed so miserably with the camera placement during the Mia arc that you failed to capture anything of significance, and even now, there could have been a wonderful bloodbath to placate the masses, but instead you throw a lightning bolt in the middle of it. If it you did it second earlier, you could have stopped everything entirely. As it is, all that's left is the disappointing sputtering out of two candidates; a slow pathetic show."

"Shut up!"

"Excuse me?"

_Did I say that out loud?_ "Um, those two boys just died. Have some respect." _Might as well go through with it. _

He let out a boisterous laugh. "The only reason I need to care about them is due to the fact that their deaths pushed District 3 over the edge. Only District one and two are remaining"

I gripped the sides of the chair harder. "They aren't numbers on spreadsheets or tools to play with. They're just kids, and _you_ put them in there to kill each other."

There was a gap of silence in the microphone; the light buzzing of the transmission filled the air.

"You know, Sabadosh, you're rather odd. I ask you to kill, and you hesitate. I speak of strategy, and you speak of emotions. I order you to make things interesting, and you barely interfere. I'm doing what's best for this great nation, and you're content to let it burn around you as you seek to protect those who don't matter. I've never had a Head Gamemaker like you."

I stood up, staring into the depths of the blackness,

"And I never will again. Enjoy the next few days in the spotlight because they will be your last."

The screen cut to static, burning the room with its noisy sound. I took a step back and slumped into the chair. Head buried into my hands, I lowered my vision to the ground.

_I had to open my mouth didn't I? I knew he was on edge with all the chaos in the districts and yet I still pushed. And now, I got myself killed. _

"I'm such an idiot."

In response to my moaning, a small whir buzzed from the ceiling. I pulled my head from my hands, and looked up: a red battery light on a camera dimmed and went out. My head swiveled to watch as all the small red eyes dying around me. The screen changed from a static to complete blackness.

I clenched my fist. _This is it. _

Instead of a broadcast and static, a cursor blinked on the screen.

For a while nothing happened. The cursor just blinked back and forth on the black background. I began to wonder if the wait was part of the punishment.

I called out, "Hello? Sir?" No response. "Anyone?" The blinker moved forward as letters appeared on the screen, forming a word.

**Hello.**

"Who are you? What's going on?"

**Good questions. **

"Are you going to answer them?"

**Maybe. Maybe not. **

"How are you hearing me? Are you part of the president's personal police?"

**If I were part of the president's police, you would have been dead long before this.**

The hairs on the back of neck stood up. I wondered if this person locked the doors when he turned off the cameras. "What are you doing?"

**I think it's time for us to meet. Meet in room B224 in two hours. **

"And if I refuse?"

**See you then. –M. **

* * *

><p>-Halle: Day 7 of the Hunger Games-<p>

While the processing plants around District two had long since corrupted the clean air, there would be days like today where occasionally, the sun would peek out between clouds. My grandparents once said the Capitol and the surrounding area got the most sun out of any area in the entirety of the nation, but that's a little hard to believe. The pollution made for some fantastic sunsets though. This was what I thought as I sat in the grass, staring as the sun descended into the skyline. I checked my watch; still one hour until the meeting.

The whole scene would have been perfect if it weren't for the background noise of machine gun fire and the occasional bomb detonation.

Rather pesky really. But I don't really mind; the lockdowns give me a good excuse to sit in, watch TV, but the other hand, it was still good to get out of the house every once and a while, to lie in the grass and enjoy the beauty of it all.

In the distance, the marching of boots resounded against the sidewalk as troops were dismissed for the evening. Thankfully, my family had yet to be ordered to quarter a soldier, but I guessed it wasn't that far off.

In contrast to the hard stomping of boots far off, a small pitter patter of steps clomped towards me. I leaned up from the ground, and turned to see a small puppy sprinting at me.

"Awwww! Puppy!" The little thing tripped over itself, sending his face into the dirt. Undeterred, it rose and continued to run towards me until it rammed into my leg, licking and barking for me to play. I grabbed the puppy and held him up. His head frantically darted in every direction. I giggled and poked his belly. "Who's a puppy? You're a puppy! Yes, you are!"

"Will you keep it down? There are Capitol soldiers everywhere." A voice a few feet behind me whispered loudly. The puppy wiggled from my hands and scrambled towards the voice. I turned around to see a stocky boy, about my age, picking up the small puppy.

"Hi! I'm Halle." I jumped up to shake his hand.

The boy shifted the puppy to one arm and held out his hand. "I'm Nathan. What are you doing out? It kinda sorta dangerous."

"It's so pretty though." I gestured to the sunset.

"You're like seventeen, and there's a war going on. Don't you think there are more important things you could be doing right now?"

I shrugged. "Not really. This seemed pretty important to me. And, anyways I'm just killing some time until the meeting in hour."

"A meeting? In an hour?" He eyed my skeptically.

"Yup, I'm supposed to meet some people to talk about some secret stuff. See here's the secret gesture so we know which other people are in on the secret." I brought my hand to my forehead, mouth and heart, displaying the gesture for each. The boy in front of me sighed. "What? It's called the Cu-" He hand shot to my mouth and covered it.

"Excuse me. How about we don't just say that to a stranger you just met, hmm?"

I pulled his hand off me and crossed my arms. "You're just jealous that you're not invited."

He sat the puppy on the ground, and gestured in the same way as I just had, hand moving from his head to his lips and to his heart. "The meeting is at my house."

I smiled. "Ah! So, you're part of the secret club thing too!"

* * *

><p>-Nathan: Day 7 of the Hunger Games-<p>

Who on earth let her into _His _society is anybody's guess.

Initially, she refused to come with me, citing the fact that there was still forty-five minutes until we were told to meet. I tried to reason with her, but she staunchly refused. We argued for a few loud minutes until I gave her the puppy to hold, and she immediately was intent on heading back to my house.

I knocked on the door and as it creaked open, I did a quick sweep of the house for any hostiles. I pushed the door open in full and called out to the stairs beside me. "Ryan? Are you there?"

I didn't receive a response, but I didn't really expect one. Ryan should be out gathering everyone for the meeting with _Him_. Usually _His _meetings were in the dead of night, so if _He _called on us this early something big must be happening in the Capitol.

The unusually tall girl followed behind me, snuggling the puppy in her arms. The puppy squirmed, but generally seemed to trust this girl. I can't say I held the same feeling.

"So, how'd you hear about us?" I turned to the girl, watching as she slumped onto my couch.

"_He _invited me." She said it so casually, like she was discussing the sunset and not one of the most important people in this war. "About a week before he left, I think."

I shook my head. I couldn't believe it. There was no way _He _chose her. "Really? Well, good for you then. Here, let me see that puppy."

"I named him Fred."

"Uh, yeah. I stopped naming them. It's a little hard to keep track of them all."

She sprang up and shrieked. "You mean there is more?"

"Um, yeah. They're in the garage, when you put that one in, just make sure to quickly close the-" She ran to the garage door and threw it open, unleashing a stampede of puppies into the house.

" I…why…Ugh, there will be so much to clean." She didn't listen and merely screamed incoherently as she tried to touch as much fur as possible.

With two puppies licking her face, she looked up at me. "Why do you have so many here?"

I looked away and scratched my elbow. "Well, what with all the ration restrictions and lack of fresh produce, people are getting into their mind that there won't be enough food to go around. So, instead of, you know, eating less, they let loose their pets into the streets. While better than the alternative, there are a lot hungry dogs on the street. So, I collect the smaller or older ones that I know can't defend themselves. I rather be a little hungry than have soldiers picking them off the street and adding them to their rations. If this whole war were to stop, they would be better off." Halle stared at me and wiped a tear from her eye.

I reopened the garage door and at the top of my lungs yelled. "Puppies: leave camp!" The veterans immediately obeyed and hopped into the garage, with the newbies plopping behind.

"Um, I'll clean up after them. Everyone should be over in about a half an hour. Make yourself comfortable."

She immediately scurried to the television and pumped up the volume. She turned to me as I went to get some paper towels. "Why do you have it on mute? Think about what you're missing!"

"They may require us to have the thing playing almost 24/7 but I am not going to pay it any attention. It's just propaganda and the stupid Hunger Games." I knelt down and began to scrub away puppy footprints from the floor.

"Aren't you interested in seeing how it plays out?"

"Eh, I can take one look at the lineup and guess who's gunna make it out and who will be the villains on the story."

"Maybe, but the story in itself is what important. Don't you think?"

A snippet of the jaunty Capitol tune played, announcing the anchors were about to speak. She immediately quieted down to listen.

Caesar Flickerman appeared on screen making small talk with his cohost before turning towards the camera. "Welcome to Dinner with Caesar, if you are just joining us, here's a recap of today's events. Claudius?"

I caught glimpses of a similarly dressed man, but I tried to ignore it and focus on picking up a broken vase. "Thanks Caesar. As you know, last night the two tributes from District three bit the dust, leaving only eight tributes left. This is where things are getting excited." He nodded to Caesar.

"Couldn't agree with you more. Now, can you tell us how exactly what happened?" He asked with shining teeth. Halle seemed transfixed.

"Well, ignoring the complicated and needless back-story, Chua was stabbed with Zach's spear. You could say he didn't make the _cut_." Both of them laughed. "with Evan burning in the surrounding fire soon after."

"On a similar note, both Allie and Rhett have also fallen to the same fire. They were confirmed dead earlier today. I guess they just couldn't take _the heat_." Both laughed again. I picked up the remote and changed the channel.

Halle poked up from the sofa. "Hey, I was watching that."

"It's disgusting. It's killing your brain cells."

She pouted. "I just wanted to see what was going on. I ship ChEvan. I want to rub it in the face of all the KEvan shippers if his last words were to Chau and not her."

I stared at her and raised my eyebrows. "I'm sorry. I speak English, not whatever that was."

"You know, shipping, when you pair two people together."

I shook my head. "Why would you do that?"

"People ship all the time. You should see the fights between the Zachel and the Mattchel shippers. I've seen girls tear each other's hair out." She put her hand up to her face and whispered. "Personally, I'm a Mattch shipper."

_And this girl wants to be part of the resistance. _

"Why does anyone care?" I flipped to the news and turned the volume up. "This is what you should care about."

A female reporter came on screen. "Yes, I am confirming that District three is beginning to riot. While Peacekeepers are trying to contain the damage, the rebel army, lead by General Haymitch himself, is knocking on the doors. Rumors are coming in that the poster girl of the rebellion is on the front lines herself. Have no fear, if the rebels continue with their ways, the Capitol has means of ending this quickly and painfully."

I pointed at the screen. "That is what is important. That is what _He _is fighting. That's what you should care about. Not stupid pretend fights."

Halle began to tear up and glare at me angrily, "it's not pretend for the people in there. Don't you think _He _knows that more than anyone? And anyways, I worry about that all the time." She gestured to the bloody massacre of civilians playing on the television. "In fact, I can't stop worrying about it."

Tears rolled down her face. "They took my sister, Dani"

_Damn, I'm an idiot. _

I walked up to her. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

She sniveled. "I just want to forget sometimes, okay?"

"I really am sorry."

"_He _said that he was going to the Capitol, so I told _Him_ that that's where they took her. _He _told me that I should join this group and maybe we could find her. It's my only hope."

I patted her on the back. "If anyone in this world could fix this mess, it's _Him_."

She looked up at me and smiled through tears. "I think so too. Now, come on people should be arriving now shouldn't they?"

We sweeped the house for bugs and Capitol grunts one more time, but we were really just buying our time in waiting. As the first few started to come, we showed them to the basement. All in all, twenty of us gathered around the monitor waiting for the transmission to start. My brother, Ryan sat next to me.

"Are we missing anyone?"

Ryan shook his head as he typed into the consol. "Sean P. was a little hard to find, and Danny, Taylor, and Conner were at the wrong meeting place, but everyone ended up all right. Who's that girl over there?"

I smiled. "That's Halle. She's a new friend."

He shrugged. "If you say so. Anyways, the transmission from _Him _should be coming any second."

I feared sitting in awkward silence for too long, but the monitor came on within minutes. We all immediately stopped chatting and paid attention. Instead of the usual video, a blinking cursor appeared on the screen.

**Good evening. Sorry, I can't make it person. I have a meeting soon that I just have to attend. **

**Sadly, more tributes are being lost every day.**

Halle looked at me expectantly, and I mouthed another apology.

**Just today, Evan, Chau, Allie and Rhett were all lost to the growing fire or the resulting chaos. Both Allie and Rhett's death didn't take place on screen. The Capitol considered it boring and merely cut it out entirely. Even in death, they are mocked.**

Everyone in the room sat in silence.

**It's not just bad news, though. We are so close to our goal. I have verified the passage given to me by an Avox girl named Rose. There is a passage capable of allowing us to sneak into the Capitol to carry out the mission. I'm sending you the schematics, now.**

**Additilnally, the army will be within District 2 in mere hours.**

**Stay vigilant. We can do this. **

**-M**

* * *

><p>-M: Day 7 of the Hunger Games-<p>

I pressed send one last time and pulled the ear buds from my ears. The sounds of jazz disappeared, and I pocketed the device. I stroked my short beard and waited for Sabadosh to make our appointment.

She wasn't even a second late. A pushed a button to lock the door behind her.

Her eyes lit up as she entered the room. "It was you behind all this? Look, I'm not here to play games. We have already talked about Matt. I know you are his sponsor and care about him, but I won't give him any special treatment. I have bigger things on my plate besides worrying myself with you. I mean really…"

I let her talk away until she eventually quieted and stared at me. "Sabadosh, do you think you're in control?"

She nodded. "I am always in control."

"And what if I told you that you weren't?"

She stared nervously at the ground. "I am in control. I am."

I smiled to her. "Why were those thirty kids chosen?"

She sneered to me. "They were the smartest kids in the entire nation. We have the tests to prove it."

My smile only grew bigger, "Mmm hmm. And, why were the advisors chosen as they were? Why are Cassady, Hoffman, Madsen, myself and many other skilled people here?"

She wrung her wrists. "Well, that's because you volunteered from your districts and were sent to the Capitol.

"That's true. And, why were you chosen?"

"I am the best at what I do."

"Weren't you the only one to volunteer?"

"Um, that's also true."

I slid her a cup of coffee, nature's sweet nectar of life. She eyed it nervously. "Believe me. You're going to need something in your blood after I explain things to you, and sadly, I'm all out of alcohol."

She took the mug and sipped.

"I've watched and listened to you for a long time. Ignore the creeper factor please and believe me when I say this: you are the very best person for this job. Am I right in thinking you would do anything for these kids?"

Sabadosh nodded firmly. "Yes."

"Good. Then, I can trust you not to tell anyone else what I'm about to tell you." I took a gulp of my coffee. "I am the head of Tactical Operation: Kappa. This is an imitative to take down the leaders of the Capitol, quietly and without unnecessary bloodshed. Sadly, Tactical Operations Alpha through Lambda ended less than successfully. We never were able to assemble the necessary amount of people without causing attention."

Silently, she stared at the mug. "So, what does this have to do with me and the Hunger Games?"

I smiled and tapped her mug. "Good question. Good questions are always better than good answers." I shook my head. "Anyways, I'm surprised you actually believe in those tests you gave the kids. They were totally wrong. Complete garbage."

"But, they are the smartest-"

I laughed. "Pffft. Hardly. They are smart no doubt, but they are all idiots in their own ways. I have faith in them though. They just need a little help…Regardless, we chose these kids knowing that we would then granted access into the Capitol where we could execute Tactical Operation: Kappa. So, now with Tactical—you know what? Let's just call it TOK. With TOK on the brink of execution, we would like your help."

Sabadosh took another drink and shook her head. "Wait a minute. If this was all set up, how'd you get know about the IB program in the first place?"

"The original plan for the 75th annual Hunger Games was to bring back old tributes. But, with Katniss and Peeta in that line up, we didn't want to take our chances of breaking them out of the arena forcibly. So, I had to convince your little director to change his mind to something equally diabolical sounding: taking away the districts' future by taking away their smartest. He was a bit hesitant at first, but let's just say that few manage to out drink yours truly here."

Her eyes followed up a line up from her coffee to meet my gaze. "Fine. Let's say that I believe you, that this is 'just as planned', what would you want me to do?

"Well, we something big and showy to distract the Capitol. Haymitch has told me that the invasion of District three will begin tomorrow, so this is our chance to strike. With both the civilians and army distracted, we might have a chance to bring this to an end. So, any ideas how to make a big show, without hurting any of the kids in there?"

For the first time since we started talking, she smiled. "I have something. It's this flower; _Rosoideae_ _muttanus_. It has a hallucinogen, but after we worked out the bugs, it has proven to be non-lethal."

I slapped my knee. "Perfect! So, are you in?" I extended a hand to her.

She took my hand and shook it. "I don't have any other option, so I think that I am."

"Cheers then." I tapped our mugs together. "But you should probably get out of here. Can't be missing for too long."

"Of course." She turned to leave, but stopped. "Are there any more plans to break the kids out of there?"

I scratched my beard again. "I've grown rather fond of those kids. We'll see what we can do. If I leave Matt in there any longer, I'm not sure if there will be anything left to save." I laughed; she didn't. "Ahem. Sorry, that was in bad taste."

She eyed me sternly, but kept a smile. "Yes, it was. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be going. Oh, by the way…"

"Yes ma'am?"

"You're a clever man, McAvoy."

"Thank you."


	27. Chapter 27:Expanding from One

-Katlyn: Day 7 of the Hunger Games-

I slipped the sword out of Rhett's back.

"Didn't _see_ that coming? Ha! Hahaha...ha...heh." With the fight over, nature began to settle and silence restored itself over the forest. I coughed. "Everyone, okay?" A small bird chirped in response, and I recalled that there was no one here."Oh...yeah."

I brushed my hand through my hair and sighed. Rising from the body, I sheathed my lone sword, the metallic sound ringing in the emptiness. My eyes drifted from the hole in the body and scanned the air around me. The dark plumes of smoke fought against the few dripping rain clouds. The fire swept across the distant tree line, out of control and hungry. The rain made progress, but it alone couldn't do anything but hold back the fire. There was no sign of the Capitol hovership either.

Just me.

And this dead guy here.

He attacked me first, so he deserves it, right? I mean, I was just trying to get some sleep. I hadn't slept since...well, I needed to sleep and then he just comes and starts shouting at me. Long story short, he's dead, okay? This is what they make us do to each other. This is how the Hunger Games work. There can only be one and all that. I do what I have to; including killing someone.

I need to get out of here. I've never seen what happens when the hovership comes, but I don't really want to know.

As I crept away, and left that guy, I felt a solitary trail of sticky red liquid dripping down from my head. Alone, it traveled across the contour of my cheeks and made itself into a small droplet on my chin. I dabbed the bead, collecting it onto my index finger. The bead lost energy to keep moving, so instead it tried to reflect the world around in a vain attempt to protect itself from being noticed. The drop dyed my eye a deep red. Unnerved, I hurriedly flicked the one drop from my finger.

Still my face had a single line running down it. I fought the impulse to wipe off the blood with my sleeve, and instead, found a nearby stream.

Thankfully not poisoned with ashes, I took a small sip of a clear pool. I couldn't stomach too much, but after I was satisfied, I splashed some water on the wound. While it did sting, it also offered some relief. As the water settled, a face stared back at me: cheeks puffy, hair all over the place, and eyes red from the ashes...and from crying.

I slammed my fist into the mirror, breaking the reflection. I sighed to myself. Another line of liquid fell across my face.

Evan would patch me up now. It'd be easy. Well, he'd complain a whole bunch, but then Chau would make some non sequitur remark, and I would have to hold his hand steady because he was laughing so hard. But then, I would watch him try to hold in his laughter with his adorable face and then I would break out laughing too.

_Yeah. It would happen like that._

I gave up and wiped my forehead with my sleeve, damning the fabric to a lonely crimson stain.

"I'm fine. I was alone before. I've always been alone. I practically raised my siblings myself. I don't need to depend on anyone. There's nothing I can't handle. I know–"

_"Antidisestablishmentarianism ."_

"What? Who the hell is that?" My head span in every direction, attempting to locate the masculine voice from above.

Nothing. The only living thing I could see was a bird tilting its head at me, a lone confused woman.

It opened its mouth: _"She sells seashells by the sea shore."_

"So, you're a jabber jay then." It stared at me with its beady eyes. "The voice sounds familiar."

_"Andrew, will you stop playing around with–"_ A different voice cut off immediately. But it already told me what I needed to know.

"So, that guy Andrew was playing around with some jabber jays, huh?" The bird fluttered at the name Andrew, but it couldn't have remembered the person who gave it a voice. It's a dumb bird. "Weird guy. I wonder how he died."

I leapt back as the bird began squawking, firing feather everywhere, apparently angered by my musings. The cries rang out past the enclosed space into the darkening sky.

"Shhhhh! Shut up." The bird sent out a long cry. Might as well try reasoning with it. "You're going to attract Matt or someone worse over here." Didn't help. The bird screamed louder and louder. "Shut up. Shut up!"

Instantaneously, the bird stopped calling out. It became completely still. After a second delay, it slowly dragged its head to stare at me with a single black eye. And finally, it opened its mouth.

_"Don't stop and smell the roses."_

And with that, it simply stopped moving. No twitching. No breathing. Just still. Its one eye frozen.

"Don't stop and smell–what's that suppose to mean?"

Whether it couldn't or didn't want to, I wasn't sure, but it didn't move to respond. I was about to try to poke it or something, but something else was odd. The bird wasn't staring at me, I don't think, it seemed to be staring at something behind me. I pointed my index finger, a red stain still upon it, and followed the bird's line of sight, eventually landing on a petite green bud.

Contrasting against the brown of the rest of the foliage, the bright bud seemed to be growing at a miraculous pace. I lowered my head to confirm the speed of its growth. Indeed, the bud quickly sprouted two leaves and head.

I checked with the bird behind me, and jumped a little: no more bird. There was no fluttering or flapping away; he just vanished.

I turned back to the plant, which to my horror, had blossomed into a beautiful blood red rose. It's smell drifting across the air. The smell drifted across the air like spoonful of pink molasses. It was so tempting to inhale deeply, but my conscious mind forced myself to heed the bird's warning.

I sprang backwards, head slamming against the tree behind me in an effort to pull away as fast as possible, but at that point, it was too late. The sweet smell fluttered into my nose.

For a moment, nothing happened; everything was calm and normal. Then, the dam between subconscious and realty broke, each pouring into each other in an effort to achieve an equilibrium that would break me.

The world turned greyish brown and flaming pink at the same time. The sky fell beneath my feet and the ground slipped into the trees. I could hear voices. Of Chau. Of Evan. Of Shelby. Of Patrick. A voice, tiny and insignificant, my own voice, screamed amongst the chorus. It told me to cover my mouth and to get away.

I tried to raise my arms of lead, but failed. I clenched my teeth and forced the hands to my face, covering my nose and mouth.

Finally, I ordered my legs to move. They mocked my attempt to command them and forced me to the ground. Around me, I could see the single rose multiplied exponentially. It started at 1. There's 2. Now 4. I lifted my body off the ground and dragged myself away. 8. I punched my legs, a shot of adrenaline shot through my head, clearing the pink clouds. 16. I scrambled up and began shambling away. 32

Shut up! 64.

They were spreading. 128. Everywhere. 256. I looked behind to see a growing sea of red. 512. I just had to keep running. 1024.

It's going to infect everyone.

2048. 4096. 8192...


	28. Chapter 28: All the Running

_Falling._

_Falling._

_Falling._

_Falling._

_Falling._

_Falling._

_Falling._

**Ground.**

-Rachel: Day 8 of the Hunger Games-

My eyes sliced the darkness, and the world presented me with a magnificent view: perfect red roses making a bed for their queen with the sunrise illuminated the throne. After such a gift, I didn't want to go back to sleep. Around me the flowers stood like towers. Was I small or were they just that large? It didn't matter to me. Blissfully, I rose from the ground, my head breaching the bubble of glorious aroma the roses emitted.

As I took my first breath in this new world, things seemed a lot less calm. The sweet scent of the flowers still persisted, but the fresh air dampened its effect, clearing out my mind of the pink fog.

I put my hand on my head. "Which way…Which way…Where am I? What am I doing here?" I tried to remember what happened. "Well, I was fighting with Katlyn. She won I think. Then…" My memories trailed off into the fog. I took another breath, and my mind opened a little more. "And then…"

Darkness. Fog. Red. Noises. Fog. Matt's voice. _"…come back. Come on, come back to me…"_

The fog lost its intensity; I was beginning to feel a bit more like myself. "Oh yeah. I think Matt and Zach picked me up. Why the hell did they just leave me here then? Why can't remember anything. What's the answer?"

"Do you mean you that think you can find out an answer to it?"

"Exactly so." _I was sure that there was answer no matter what she says…wait, who_- "The hell are you?" I screamed.

In front of me, a familiar girl smiled and bounced back and forth, way too excited and bubbly. She was about my height, with brown hair. I had seen her before.

She opened her lips to speak to me, but her gaze was cast in no direction in particular. "I'm just a talking flower."

What the hell does that mean?

She seemed to have responded to my thoughts. "I haven't the slightest idea." She smiled, lightly bouncing up and down.

I screamed again. I wasn't going to put up with absurdity any longer. I slipped the pocket knife from its hiding place. Weird. It already had a thin covering of dried blood. Whatever; it would still work perfectly as a way to shut this girl up.

With the girl's back turned towards me, I dove at her, positioning the knife directly into her neck. I braced myself for the weight of her body.

And, I slipped right through her and fell on my face. I flipped upwards to see her staring down at me.

She bent down to my face. "Hahahahahahaha! As if. Do you really think you're going to get rid of me that easily?"

I ignored her and jabbed at her feet and ankles. My dried blood coated knife phased through her body, like it was made of fumes. Jumping to my feet, I made on last effort to stab her in her chest. As the blade dove into the emptiness though her heart, I remembered something more: Zach's voice _"Rachel, please stop…"_ I heeded his suggestion for my memories; apparently this was pointless.

This girl walked away; she just didn't get the point of the all the stabbing. She called back to me, "Yeah, The Dormouse is right. You should just stop. Aren't I just a mystery?"

_Dormouse? Wait, can you hear my thoughts?_

She turned to me and giggled. "Can I? That would be just absurd, wouldn't it?"

What's going on? "What's your name, child? Explain yourself!" I pocketed my knife and walked up to her. Again, I tried to touch her, but my hands simply went through.

"I can't explain myself, I'm afraid, ma'am," she said, "because, I'm not myself, you see." She giggled at her stupid pretentious attempts at confusing me.

I stomped my foot. "I'm ordering you! Speak English, and tell me who you are and what is going on."

"You ruin all the fun, you know that? And, anyway, I told you, I'm not myself. So, then who am I?"

I examined her. She was familiar. Brown hair, eyes. Freckled around her face. But, she seemed like she was from entirely…another story. "Are you Katy?"

She looked down at herself as if she was checking out a new outfit. "Am I?"

"Yes, you are Katy. I saw you die in the opening of the games, and yet here you are."

She shrugged. "I guess I am."

"Are you a ghost? A projection? Hallucination?"

"All of the above? None of the above? I don't know." She laughed.

The next few hours were pretty much the same. Roses were everywhere. Wherever I walked, she followed. Whenever I told her off, she laughed. However hard I tried to ignore her; she tried her best to relentlessly annoy me.

"Hey, I heard that. I'm not trying to annoy you. I'm just having some fun. Is it that bad to be excited about life?" Arms outstretched, Katy traced my footsteps exactly.

"Shut up." There had to be some water around her somewhere.

"There's a small creek to our left. Can't you hear it?"

As soon as she said it, I realized that the faint noise of the creek was there, just tuned out by my subconscious. "Yeah. I'm just really thirsty."

Another memory appeared, Zach call out to Matt, _"here, get her some water…"_ I strained myself to recall anything else, but nothing came.

Katy appeared over my shoulder. "You know The Dormouse really looks after you."

"This is why you're annoying. What do you mean The Dormouse?" I located the stream and sat next to it.

She shrugged. "They're just names I give. They don't mean anything."

I guess I was really bored, because I played her little game. "Fine. What's my name then?"

She giggled. "Tweedledum comes to mind for some reason. But, I think the Queen of Hearts fits better, don't you think?"

"And, why is that?"

She pointed to my ginger hair. I recalled an image; a memory of searing fire surrounding me and two boys pulling me out of it.

I shook my head. "Very funny. Does everyone else get a name?" I bent down and scooped some water in my mouth.

She clapped her hands. "Oh frabjous day! This is fun. Well, let's see. Evan is the Caterpillar."

Another image: Evan's sitting next to me, mending my wounds.

"Katlyn would be Alice, I guess."

Katlyn is pointing her blade to the center of my face.

"Chau would be the White Rabbit."

Chau stands up for me. He takes the blade from Katlyn. Smiles at me. "It's going to be okay." A lance pierces his chest.

"I said that Zach is The Dormouse."

Zach rushes up to me and drags me from the fire.

"I'm undecided on Matt. Is he the White Knight or the Jabberwock?"

Matt wakes me up. "Rachel, are you okay? You've been unconscious all day."

"As for the other three left…"

I scream. "Stop." I tried to process all of this. "Just please stop."

She smiles coyly, like she took pleasure in what I am experiencing. "What, am I just that creative? Can you not handle my amazingness?"

I sat down against a nearby tree and crushed more roses under me. All the event of that day came back to me. "Everything is burning. Chau and Evan are dead. They saved me, and now they're dead. This is all my fault."

Katy sat down next me, crushing nothing beneath her. "I don't think so. You made a mistake, yeah, but it was a misunderstanding that killed them. It wasn't your fault."

"It was Zach who killed him, right?" I felt like I was rehearsing a script, like I had said all of this before. Anger welled up within me, directed towards Zach, but I let it go as quickly as it came.

From her place beside me, Katy disappeared, reappearing on the bank of the stream. Her head turned to me, eye imploring. "So, what to do now?"

I looked down. "There's still something I'm forgetting. But…"

Katy smiled. "But?"

"I might as well go and find Zach and Matt."

Katy bent down and her hand reached towards a rose. Both her fingers came to together to pluck the green stem, but the rose remained unmoved. As she rose up, an identical flower appeared in her hand. She brought the rose up to her face and inhaled it.

"What about all these roses? It's all about as curious as it can be. Yet, you don't seem curious at all. Curiosity is the strongest force in the universe, you know."

I looked down at all the roses around me. Each seemed perfectly crafted in beauty and elegance. She was right, though, I hadn't really wondered why they had shown up everywhere.

"I don't know. My mind's been a little slow I guess." Kate put the flower to her face once again and I seemed to savor the smell. "Didn't you say that you were a talking flower? What does that mean? Why are you here?"

"Did I say that? It's so hard to keep track of things. Under the curve of reality there are an infinite amount of memories, if you put that infinity and add it all together then maybe you could find the whole, I suppose."

I crushed another rose beneath my foot. I obviously wasn't getting any answers out of her. "I have no idea what you just said."

Kate shrugged. "Neither do I then."

"Whatever." I took the blade from my pocket cleaned the blood off it; I don't remember using in the battle with Katlyn. I must have been my blood on it. I washed it off along with the blood stains on my clothing. Just about everything seemed to be dyed red. Even the roses were the blood of the ground.

Katy plucked up behind me. "Well, where will we find them?"

"Find who?" I took a second to process. "Oh Zach and Matt. They should be in center of the arena with the Cornucopia. It's west from here, I think." I collected my things, took a final sip, and started to head in the direction of the center. As I finished, I hear a rustle in the distance.

I turn to Katy. "Was that you?"

She shrugged. "Must have been."

"Whatever."

Within a few more hours, we were within a mile of the Cornucopia. Around me, the fire has ripped through the landscape. With the ground char, the roses struggle to take root. Compared to the lush field I awoke in, they were a measly garden. Like I came to expect, Katy dogged after me. Doesn't this girl have any other friends to stalk?

Kate appeared in front me, trying blocking my path with her incorporeal body."Don't you feel guilty going back to Zach and Matt?"

I calmly walked through her. "I'm not one to feel guilty and even if I was, why should I?"

"Well for starters, you're a really rather rude to them."

I stomped on a fledgling tree in my way."Don't judge me. I don't mean anything by it."

Kate admired my work and quickly followed after me. "But even then, what are you going to say to them once see you them again?"

I swallowed. "I'm...I'm going to apologize and hope they forgive me."

Kate smiled. "How curious."

I scoffed at her. "What? Is it that strange?"

Her smile only grew bigger. "Yes, I would say that it is. What brought about this change?"

"I've always been like this okay. Nothing changed." I looked up at the sky. Well, nothing big.

Katy leaned in. "Nothing big? So, something did change."

I swiped at her form. "Goddamit, stop that." The dull grey smoke of the fires still lingered in the sky, blocking out the force of the sun, obscuring what lay underneath. I turned back to Kate; she simply stared at me, waiting for a response. "Fine. Something did change." She gestured for me to continue. "Well," I started, "when I fought with Katlyn she didn't kill me…obviously. But, something of me died that night."

I paused; the ground was covered in shadows. "I never felt that vulnerable before; I always did my best to prevent that, but once I was opened, Chau came in. I learned that some people are okay to be trusted. I want to be able to trust Matt and Zach too." I felt a bit lighter.

Katy nodded silently with my confession, and once I was finished, she floated up to me. She brought her hand up to my head, and said, "This day just keeps becoming more interesting." Nearly transparent, her hand rose to my forehead and poked the center of it.

A rush of memories came flooding back to me.

I wake up, wounds stinging. Matt rubs my forehead and said, "Are you okay?" We talk. It breaks out into an argument. Lots of yelling. I run away. _"…come back. Come on, come back to me…"_ I fall asleep.

Katy pulls her finger from my forehead and walks backwards. She seems to be getting more transparent, less real; around me, I noticed there are fewer roses, and I can't smell the aroma as much. "Is it all coming back to you then?"

I rub my temples. "Enough of it. It's still unconnected events, but I remember the gist of it."

"Good. Then, I think you'll find that we're here then." Confused, I pushed a branch out of the way. Kate gestures outward, presenting me with the Cornucopia.

It's basically a black pit. Everything we stored, everything we protected, everything we had in this world, burned to ashes. Not even the roses managed to penetrate the black. In the center of the castle of kindling, a single individual sat, head in his hands. His blonde hair was a lighthouse beacon in a sea of darkness. Matt!

I took a step into the dead circle, and the foliage crunched under my shoe but, otherwise there was complete silence. Matt still hadn't noticed us.

I turned to Katy, who sat quietly on a stump. Beside her, one last rose fought to survive in such harsh conditions. Oddly, I could see completely through her, like the last bit of smoke before it disappears. "Well, are you coming, then?"

Kate shook her head. "Nope. Can't go with you on this one. I wouldn't want to ruin your little tea party with Matt over there."

I was disappointed, but wasn't sure why. "Um...okay. Goodbye, then." I waved.

I took a breath, filling my lungs with fresh air; the first time they had been completely clear of the rose's scent. As I did so, Kate faded away until only her lips remained. They spoke one last thing before leaving: "Oh, we'll see each other again. You don't know the whole story yet."

Wait, what? "What do you mean-"I tried to cry out to her, but her lips formed a smile and completely disappeared.

I spun around to see Matt running towards me. "Rachel? Why are you here? Who are you talking to?" He sounded really angry, and where was Zach?

"Hey, Matt. I just-"

Matt pulled his sword from its sheath and waved it in my direction. He began yelling, every word seemed to hurt him. "What are you doing back here? Just leave me alone."

I began backing up. Did I really deserve this much hatred? "Look Matt. I know we got into an agreement, but-"

He caught up to me and held his sword inches from my chest. I got a good look at him. His usual perfect demeanor and clothing were in a tattered mess, and soot speckled his blonde hair. "Argument? You're calling it an argument? What is wrong with you?"

I batted the sword from my chest. "Hey! I'm just trying to tell you I'm sorry, and where's Zach?"

Matt glared at me, still indignant, but confused. "You selfish idiot, Rachel. You killed him."

Oh God.

-Rachel: Day 7 of the Hunger Games-

Matt wakes me up. "Rachel, are you okay? You've been unconscious all day."

I slowly come to. Everything is blurry and confusing. Matt rubs my head. "There you go. You've lost a lot of blood, so just keep it down, okay?" My eyes sting. I tried to open them a little more and see a thick black smoke and the orange of fire in the distance.

I meant to say, "Where's Zach?" but all that came out was a dry wisp of air. Thankfully, Matt seemed to understand.

"Zach? He's trying to find you something to eat and drink. This fire torched our stuff in the Cornucopia, and there's not much in the way wild animals in the area either." Matt left my field of vision and set me upon a blanket. I began to wiggle my fingers and toes; all of them were functional at least.

Matt came back to me with a small bottle, which he poured into my mouth. I expected to find cool water, and almost threw up when a viscous oil slide down my throat. I jumped up and started coughing. "What the hell was that?"

Matt smiled at me, mischievously. "Yeah, sorry about the olive oil. That's the only liquid we have. It's just to get you talking really. You didn't wake up all day. We were beginning to get a little freaked out."

A deep pit grew in my stomach. "Everything is burning. Chau and Evan are dead. They saved me, and now they're dead. This is all my fault."

Matt sat down next me. "I don't think so. You made a mistake, yeah, but it was a misunderstanding that killed them. It wasn't your fault."

"It was Zach who killed him, right?" Anger welled up within me, directed towards Zach.

Matt continued with trepidation. "Um, yeah, but…"

"They were good people. They saved me." I took the blanket off myself and tried to stand up. Dizziness took over and sent me tumbling. As I fell, Matt grabbed me.

"Whoa there." He grasped my arm. "Did you really say they saved you? Rachel, they were about to murder you."

I shook my head. "No. No. No. They wanted us to team up. What can the Capitol do to us if we work together?"

Matt smiled at me, unbelievingly. "Rachel…"

I pushed him off me, spreading my legs to be able to stand. Everything was still dizzy. "It would have been perfect, and…and…and Zach ruined it. He never thinks; he just does."

"Rachel-" As he was about to continue patronizing, footsteps resounded behind me. Zach appeared carrying a container of sloshing water.

Zach called out to Matt. "Here, get her some water. She's not thinking right."

I twirled around. "You! You ruined it."

His head shook. "Rachel. Please stop. Come on. We've been through this before. Seriously. I don't want to deal with this again from you."

Anger swelled up further, and I began to shout. "Take me seriously, damn it. Why did you have to just run in there not thinking like you always do?"

Evidently, he ran out of patience. Throwing down the bucket, he walked up to me. "I saved you!"

"They mended my wounds, see!" I pointed at the blood soaked bandages, still leaking.

Zach began to shout as well. Matt tried to interrupt, but Zach threw him off. "How was I supposed to know that? And anyway, don't you think I feel guilty about killing people too?"

"You can barely think at all, idiot." I smirked

"Rachel, you selfish brat. Shut up." To punctuate his sentence, he jabbed his finger into my chest. Slowly, I lowered my head until my vision lay on his grubby finger on my shirt.

"I told you before. Don't. Touch. Me." I snagged the pocket knife from my bra and, like a serpent's fang, struck him directly in the heart. Whipping it out of his chest produced a fountain of blood. I threw him off me, and my survival instincts took over, as I began to sprint away.

I heard both the body and Matt drop to the floor. Matt screamed. "Zach, come back. Come on, come back to me."

An hour of relentless running relentless later, I collapsed to the ground. A rose appeared in front of me, and I surrendered myself to its promise of forget.

-Rachel: Day 8 of the Hunger Games-

"Oh. God. I'm…I'm sorry. I just forgot. I…" I fell to the ground, tears dripped on my face.

He pushed the sword up to my neck. "You forgot? You dirty liar. Give me one reason why I shouldn't just greatly improve the quality of the world by killing you now."

I tried to think of a reason.

"Hey. Hey. Hey. What you doing, hurting a pretty girl like that?" A figure came into the dead circle. He was short.

Matt turned to me. "You led him here, then?"

I shook my head, spreading tears across the dead ground. "No, I-"

"Hey, I'm Jacob, and naw, she didn't know I was following her. Thankfully, she led me right to you, career." The short guy revealed a sword and pointed it towards Matt, who in turn pulled out his own weapon. "While these mind altering roses are great, they're not as good as coffee." He laughed. "It's been over a week, and I would like this whole game to be over with already. You could call me desperate, well desperate enough to give me a little extra strength. Enough to finish you off." As he finished his speech, Jacob dove at Matt, who braced to parry.

Both completely ignored me. So, I scrambled up and, once again, began to run away. Far away. Behind me, Jacob and Matt struggled against each other. Neither seemed to be losing or winning.

I heard Matt cry out in pain, but I kept running. Matt can deal with it by himself.

The scent of the roses once again filled my nose as I reached the living trees, and again Katy appeared in front of me.

"Can he now? It doesn't look like it. In fact, I think he is going to lose this one."

For some reason, I couldn't continue through her as I usually had. I simply froze in place.

"What are you doing to me?" I attempted to move my legs.

Katy shook her head. "You are rather thick, aren't you?"

Behind me, there were more yells. I shook my head. "Stop it. What are you talking about?"

Again, she smiled that same devilish smile, and shook her finger. "You keep asking me who I am. It seems obvious to me. The answer to this riddle? I am you." She said it like it was the simplest thing in the world.

"What?"

"Or at least a part of you…that you hate apparently. So, I ask this of myself: Why are you such an evil serpent, abandoning your friend like that?"

"I...I'm not" My mind stewed in thick cement.

"A likely story indeed," said Kate in a tone of deepest contempt. "Red Queen, you say you changed, but you have yet to do so. Well serpent, what do you have to say for yourself?"

I didn't understand any of this, but still I responded the best I could. I think this was the right answer: "But I'm not a serpent, I tell you! I'm a…I'm a…"

She shouted. "Well. What are you?"

I whispered. "I…I'm a little girl."

Kate smiled.

Was that all I was? I almost accepted it, almost believed it, but something within me grew.

It was the want to wipe the smile off her face. "Maybe I'm just a girl, but I'm not a serpent, I'm not evil, I'm not weak, I'm going to go back and help him, but most of all I'm tired of playing your games. So just, shut up!" Katy scowled, and after one last glance towards the rose, Katy disappeared for good.

I couldn't waste any time. I sprinted back to the dead circle. Jacob had beaten Matt back into the corpse of the Cornucopia.

Jacob's voice grew louder as I approached. "Well, career, after you, there's only five left. Maybe I can get this over with by tomorrow. I'll just-"

"Matt!" I readied the tiny pocket knife; a weapon that has done so much more harm than good so far. Sword outstretched, Jacob spun around and swung.

It just missed me. Cocky, he recovered and began to bounce back and forth. "What could you not wait for me?"

Frankly, I was done talking for today.

Matt jumped back to his feet and grabbed his fallen sword. Seeing the threat of both of us, Jacob backed off, but we wouldn't let him away that easily. In harmony, Matt and I advanced upon him.

Jacob's bloodstained eyes swiveled, looking for an opening. Apparently, he found one and back to swing towards Matt.

After all this, after all my adventure, I wouldn't let this happen.

I dove at Jacob, and the sword stopped nicely, lodged into my hip. A crimson red pulsed in my vision; I ignored it and the pain. I pulled the sword from my body, and turned it around on its owner.

With strength I didn't know I had, I took the vorpal blade and used it to kill its previous master. Off with his head.

Red everywhere and one cannon shot.

I collapsed to the ground. Matt came into my vision.

Red blood dripped from my mouth. "I'm sorry, Matt."

He brushed my fiery ginger hair out of my eyes. "It's okay. I'm sorry, too."

I smiled. It was a smile that seemed was too happy for the situation, it didn't really make sense. But then again, nothing made sense in here.

_In this stupid Wonderland they created for us,_

_It would be so nice if something made sense for a change._


	29. Chapter 29: What was the Point?

Chapter 29:

-Savannah: Day 8 of the Hunger Games-

_I'm supposed to be all okay. _

Darkness thumped in and out around like the anxious beating of my own heart. Against the mandate of nature, the roses around me still opened their lips to the night, refusing to shut as the day came to a close. They smelled so pretty. So pretty. I fell to my knees.

_I'm supposed to be happy now. _

And yet, why am I not happy? Holding it up the shining of the moon, I presented the heart pendent and broken necklace I had done everything to obtain.

_He took this from me, but now I have it. I have it, so why am I not better? _

_Why?_

_When I had it, I was fine. Jon took it away; he made like this. But I have it now, why isn't everything okay?_

I silently screamed.

_What did I do to deserve this? All these bad things are happening to me. I never hurt anyone. I've always been hurt worse. Why can't I be happy? Why is everything around me so dark?_

I brought the cold silver heart to own. I wanted it to all go away. Everything to just go away.

"Leave me alone," I whispered. My only companion, the steel knife beside me, blood caked and motionless, didn't respond. "So close." I whispered again. "The voices in the sky say there are only four shadows left here. Only four. It will all be better soon. Soon."

The air around me seemed heavy, pressing into my chest, and I struggled to breathe. Chills ran up my body. Everything felt cold.

I slapped myself, just to make sure my body still worked. "It's okay, Savannah. You only have to hold on a little bit more. A little bit more. It's almost over."

I wanted to surrender to it, to let it take me away from here, but I dragged the knife from the ground, stood up, and continued to shamble forward to an ending I only hoped would come.

* * *

><p>-Mia: Day 8 of the Hunger Games-<p>

"Lalalalalalala!" What started out as a soft hum broke out into a full song. Quiet is so boring, it really needed some singing to cheer it up. I reached a crescendo, causing a flock of birds to fly out of the trees in what I like to think was joy.

I inhaled the crisp night air and the lingering scent of chemically enhancing biological experiments. I skipped forward into a bed of pseudo-roses. As I was about to pick one up, to sample its delightful odor, one of the birds that I heard my song swooped down in front of me.

"What? Aren't I a great singer? What are you? Just a jealous jabberjay?" I laughed.

_"Don't stop and smell the roses." _

A grin grew across my face. "Andrew? Is that you?" The bird fluttered at the name, but had no inclination to respond. "Aw. That's real cute. Something finally paid attention to your silly ramblings. That's cute. Just freaking adorable." My voice rose in volume with each word. "But you what? I don't care!" A ripple of satisfaction ran across my spine as I said that delightful sentence, so I said it again. "I don't care. Not even a little bit." The grin only grew as I continued to talk with Andrew. "Not even a little bit. Nope. Nope. Nope." Arms outstretched, I spun around, enjoying the light breeze of the night air. "So," I stopped spinning and bent down to the ground, plucking a single rose from the bed, "I'm going to actively ignore you." I brought the rose to my face.

Andrew repeated himself: _"Don't stop and smell the roses." _

I glared him. "You can't tell me what to do." I brought the rose to my nose and inhaled deeply.

Nothing happened at firs; simply continued silence and Andrew staring. But the rush came within a few more seconds and didn't disappoint. The powerful chemicals infected my auditory, visual, and memory bastions of my brain, causing dizziness and (for me at least) a sensation of euphoria.

I pulled the rose from my face and fell to the ground in delight. Andrew sat there judging me.

I crossed my arms and pouted. "What? What's the big deal?"

He didn't say anything.

The darkness pumped in and out around me, and I struggled to stay conscious. "Hey! I know what I'm doing with these. Any idiot who isn't completely crazy can obviously see that these are biologically mutated monstrosities of nature created by the Capitol which produce pheromones capable of disarming the human system by degrading the neural pathways between the areas of fear, memories, and the senses, allowing an altered experience of reality wherein one's conscience determines the outcome." I took a breath.

"Duh." I sneered at Andrew.

He shook his head.

"Oh, you're such a downer. Go die again." I pulled out a dagger from my waist and threw it at him. The bird screeched for an instant, but was quickly silenced by the specter of death.

"Damn it, Andrew. Look what you made me do. Poor thing." I picked the bird up from the ground, carried it to small dip in the ground, and covered it with some brush.

Leaving the bird in its shallow grave, I walked back to the murder site and picked up the dagger from the ground. As I wiped the blood from the blade, I hummed. "Pointy pointy dagger. Pointy pointy dagger. Why are you so exquisite? Is it your red shiny coat? Or your sharp wit, is it?" I giggled.

"The careers just left you, pointy friend." I put it back in place with all its brothers and sisters in my hiding spot. "They left you guys all alone. Unguarded. Unprotected. You must be glad I picked you guys from their mountain of supplies _before _I burned the whole stack to the ground with their own matches. It would have been a waste to lose you all. If their stupid," I whispered to them, "(which they totally are) they probably think it was the fire that had spreading that destroyed their stuff, so let's just keep that our little secret." I shushed the variety and abundance of knives I had and closed them away.

"Hahahahaha!" I laughed, causing an echo to ring across the night. In the distance, I finally got a response, for which I had waited so long. I girl screamed.

This is going to be fun!

* * *

><p>-Savannah: Day 8 of the Hunger Games-<p>

I cupped my hands to mouth.

_What did you just do? You were so close to going by unnoticed. Idiot. _

_But that laugh... I've heard it before. _

I closed my eyes, trying to clear my head of a pink fog that had begun to take over. _That night. The night when I was supposed to become okay again. She laughed and then I…_

I shook my head and tried not to think of what had happened next.

_It…It doesn't matter. What matters is now. So, did she hear me? _

I waited in the darkness, trying to clear my mind and listen, but the silence was deafening. As I was about to give up, a calm voice pierced my ears.

"Hello? Are you still there?"

Gripping the two companions I still had left, I grasped my knife in one hand, the necklace in the other and sprinted in the opposite direction. Though my eyes had long since adjusted to the darkness, the dizzying pink fog in my mind made every step I challenge to avoid the hazards around me.

A distance behind me, the quite chipper voice spoke again. "Hello, friend! I see you."

_Ignore her. Keep running. Just keep running. _

"Hehehe. Target acquired. Firing!"

For a moment, I slowed down to process what she had said. As I looked up, a knife whizzed past my ear and embedded itself into the bark of tree. I continued to flee. Was running the only thing I was good for?

The noises of footsteps slashing across dead grass grew closer and closer behind me.

"There you are!" Another knife flew past me.

What else could I do, but run? Stop? Fight her? Face what I feared? Maybe. Maybe. Sometimes, it's easier to keep running. Running away.

I knife pierced my leg, sending me tumbling to the ground. At least one rib cracked as I smacked a rock on the ground. I screamed as loud and as hard as I could to release the demons that were causing such powerful pain inside of me.

"Are you serious?" The girl's voice came closer as her footsteps scraped against gravel near my face. She rolled me over, but all I could do was shut my eyes and scream.

"Oh, shut up." Her voice grew close to me until she was inches from my face. She cupped her hands on my mouth. I heard her mumble something and felt the tickle of petals against my nose. I inhaled a sweet scent and, suddenly, the pain dulled.

She stared at me frustrated. "What was that? You barely put up any resistance. That was pathetic."

Blood was dripping out of too many places at once for me to think properly, but I tried to respond. "You're a monster."

"Am I?" She laughed. "Because for the last few days, I've had nightmares of your form rising from the darkness and stabbing a guy in front of me. That sounds like you're the monster for me."

My body was both cold and warm at the same time as blood leaked from some places and left others. "You're crazy."

Again she laughed. "Crazy is relative. In my own opinion, I've got it all figured out. But then again, isn't everyone a bit crazy?" She scanned my body, kicked the knife from my useless hands, and rested her gaze upon my other hand. "Oh, what this?" She plucked the necklace from my right hand. "How pretty."

I spat out blood. "Give it back."

She smiled at me. "Why?"

I couldn't respond to her.

"Have it back anyway. I don't care. I'll trade you for that rose." She picked the rose from my face and placed it in her hair. As the scent left me, pain flooded my body. "Well, time to say goodbye." She waved. "Things are wrapping up, and between you me," she whispered, "the end is coming, and it's going to be so fun." She laughed once again. "Byebye."

I closed my eyes. Hopefully, where I'm going is better than this hell. Hopefully. Otherwise, what was the point?


	30. Chapter 30: Together Alone

-Katlyn: Day 9 of the Hunger Games-

Everything was…um…still? No, that's not the word I'm looking for. Quiet? Silent? Calm? No, none of those either. Everything was…dead. There we go.

Everything was dead.

I lounged in my hiding place, counting the leaves for the fifteenth time today. Above me, the pretend sun crested at its peak. Under me, a sea of red roses. Roses…they reminded me of something. Something that seemed, at least to me, to have happened a long time ago. I find that to be a more interesting story. Better than the present. As I sat in the tree, the present seemed so dull.

What was now a rotting pile of silence had once been filled with so much life– not that all that life had been a good thing. I guess there was murder, cannon blasts, and blood lining the rocks we walked on, but it was alive at least. Now, it's really, truly dead.

Over the last few days, while I perched safely in my little tree-hiding-place-thing here, there was so much screaming, shouting, yelling, and general hysteria in the land below. With nothing to do but eat, drink, count leaves, and occasionally nap, there's nothing better to do than listen and judge them. I didn't mean to be judging them, necessarily, but I couldn't stop it. And anyways, it's really the smartest thing to do in here. I learned some things doing it. After a few screams and piercing laughs, Mia alerted the rest of us she had caught someone. Savannah didn't last very long. That means I should be afraid of Mia I guess.

If I wasn't a part of this mad theatre production the Capitol was putting on, I would almost say it was entertaining. I have to give the Capitol some credit in their evil – at least they weren't stupid. Well, for the most part. If I had been raised to think merciless massacres like the Hunger Games were fun, and if I lacked 90% of my intelligence than maybe I would think that the Capitol wasn't all that bad.

But if I was an idiot, I would let anyone tell me what to do anyways, so maybe the quality of the entertainment isn't a factor.

I was about to continue when a glare of the sun hit my eye.

The leaf I had so precisely cowered under to protect my eye from the sun's rays had finally outlived its usefulness; the sun jabbed under its shield and hit my eyes. I plucked off the leaf, left it to be taken by the wind and replaced it with my hand to cover my vision from the piercing gaze of the sun's eye.

Stupid leaf. I hereby banish thee to the red ground of the under-realms.

Did I get off topic somewhere? Oh yeah, life and death.

Murder is all well and good, but it was only one type of life down there. There used to be animals, a variety of plants, and babbling brooks. I assume the animals were either fried to a crisp in the fires or drowned in the rains, so no more of them. No no. Any plant that wasn't a tree stretching to the mercy of the heavens was pretty much dead, outcompeted for resources by the much more resourceful flowers. Did I just make a do some wordplay there? I think I did. Yet, even the trees seemed like buildings that had been neglected in maintenance, wanting to die before the angry hobos nest in them like bees. And as for the flowing water, the babbling brooks had been silenced quite thoroughly, with only the tiny amount of rain holding off the abyss.

Let's see. What's the score?

Humans: 0

Plants: 0

Animals: 0

Nature: 0

The Capitol: 4.

But, I'm taking away 5 points from the Capitol because they're jerks.

Looks like everyone loses, though the Capitol loses the most.

Jerks…yeah, so I've been stuck in this tree, alone…all by myself…listening…for what feels like a long time. I say stuck because those things are still down there, and I have no inclination to repeat that trip I experienced. I was initially kinda scared for everyone, that something that powerful was everywhere, but they seem to be doing fine. Now, the roses just taunt me.

Oh yeah! Roses! I knew what I was about to say something. The roses reminded me of something. Geez, that memory seems like forever ago, but 'twas barely a fortnight.

I've always wanted to use the word fortnight.

Anyways…that memory; party tanks and a girl.

* * *

><p>- 5 Days until the Hunger Games-<p>

"Tank tops?" Katlyn yelled, barging into the District Three dormitory. "Lookie here," she waggled her finger towards Evan, "I'm not saying that these Games are to be respected in the least, but seriously? Party Tanks? Who the hell do Matt and Zach think they are?" Katlyn flopped down on the couch and crossed her arms. "Meow. Evan, get me some water, plllleeeeeeEEEEEeeeeease." dragging out the 'please' into at least three syllables.

Evan pushed up his eye glasses and took drinking glasses from the fridge. Setting out three, he turned to Chau. "Do you want something?"

"Your face."

Shaking his head, Evan opened the fridge. "You're getting root beer then." Evan scooped out ice into the three glasses and poured the desired contents into each.

"Evaaaaan! Waaaaaater!" Katlyn piped up from the couch.

He took the glass from the counter and handed the drink to Katlyn who immediately smiled. He sighed. "Here you go."

Katlyn made a kitten face and rubbed up against Evan's shoulder. "Thank you very much." What was initially a small sip turned into downing her entire glass as she remembered she was angry about something. She slammed the glass onto the counter.

"Katlyn, watch the phone." Evan eyed the tendrils of water sneaking towards the device.

In response, Katlyn mopped up the mess with her sleeve. "Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Anyways…the nerve of those guys!"

Watching silently during all the dialogue, Chau decided to step in. "Hey, you got your pretty red dress. Evan and I got our fancy technology-line clothing. They have their tank tops. It doesn't really matter to you, so whatever."

Katlyn stared at both Chau and Evan incredulously. "Look here little shwams. Maybe, it doesn't matter to me, but it matters...to fashion!"

Chau rolled his eyes. "A little bit over-dramatic don't you think?"

"Maybe, it's possible that you already judged those two." Evan continued.

Katlyn pouted. "That's not true."

Both of the boys stared at her.

"Okay, maybe it's a little true."

"Yeah."

Katlyn shook her head. "I have reason to though!" Evan rolled his eyes this time. "Seriously. Okay, do you know Matt's advisor, McAvoy?"

"Yes, and?"

Katlyn sipped the rest of her water. "I've seen him lurking around. Very creeper-esque if I say so myself. He's always going off away from everyone else, and I see him staring off into the distance like he's planning something, or more accurately I think Matt's planning something with his help."

"Katlyn, I'm going to be honest that sounds more than a little paranoid."

"Come on, just look at Matt. He's tall, has blonde hair, blue eyes, walks around with a cool air of don't-give-a-damn-itude. He has that look in his eyes like he is laughing out loud on the inside about a joke at your expense. There is nothing to make him more villain-like unless you want to see horns and twiddling fingers." Katlyn twiddled her fingers as an example.

"Katlyn- " As Chau was about to finish his sentence Aaron sheepishly crept through the door, trying not to interrupt. "Oh hey, Aaron. Did you want something to drink?"

Aaron smiled and waved. "Oh, no thank you. I ate a ton of food at dinner. I feel like I won't be able to eat anything for the rest of the week. This Capitol food is great." He began to walk to his room. "I'm actually going to head to bed if you don't mind."

With a sympathetic grin on his face, Chau waved goodnight. "Bye! Congratz again on getting that twelve from the judges!"

Katlyn scowled and thought to herself. "How did that guy get a twelve? They only gave me an eleven." But she shook her head and kept her comment to herself.

After another smile, wave, and a thank you, Aaron quietly shut his door.

Taking advantage of the small gap in conversation, Evan took his leave. "Alrighty, I think it's time for bed for us too."

Chau turned to him. "Us?"

Evan looked down. "Chau, it's dark in there."

Chau sighed. "You're an idiot." Evan smiled, and Chau looked back to Katlyn. "But yeah, we'll be going to our beds. You can do whatever you like; these rooms are almost entirely soundproof, so you won't be bothering us."

Katlyn gave a half-heart, "Night," as the two entered their respective rooms. As the living room filled with silence, Katlyn debated the effort versus reward of getting up, walking the elevator, pressing the button, riding the elevator all the way, getting out of the elevator, and walking her own bed, versus sleeping on their couch. She chose the latter.

Picking up the only phone on the flat, she dialed twelve and waited through the ringing until she heard a familiar voice.

"Katlyn?"

"Hey Shelby. Is Cohara there?"

"Uh…yeah. He just got back from something. He didn't say what, but yeah, I'll put him on."

Katlyn waited a moment, twirling the cord on the phone.

"This is Da – I mean Cohara."

"Hello. Hey, I'll be sleeping on the couch in District three. I met the boys yesterday. Make up a story that I don't feel like being bothered in my room or something. I'll be back sometime tomorrow."

"Cool."

"Okay. Bye." She hung up the phone, and immediately plopped down on the couch.

Within seconds, Katlyn fell asleep, leaving the room completely dark and void of conscious life. Only small LED lights on the appliances permeated the aura of darkness. A peace fell upon the room that it hadn't seen in a long while, and would never see again.

The door to District Three creaked open. The tiniest of footsteps pitter pattered on the soft carpet. The scent of delicious food diffused across the room, but in this scent was a hint of something wrong. Something artificial and chemical.

As the first scent of bacon and waffles reached Katlyn's nose, her eyes flicked open, but she ignored her instincts to pop up and go towards the food. Slowly, as to not disturb the figure slithering across the room, she rose up, closed her eyes, and took in the situation. The smell of bleach and poisonous chemicals lingered seconds longer than the scent of the well cook meal.

"What the hell?" Escaped her lips, but it the figure seemed too occupied with her work to notice Katlyn's faintest of whispers. The figure drifted in the direction of Chau and Evan's doors. As Katlyn rose to stop this malevolent shadow, the figure halted and turned towards Aaron's door instead.

Katlyn slowed down, and after a brief moment of consideration, sat back in the couch, crossed her legs, and decided to wait and see what was going to happen.

She crossed and uncrossed her legs, occasionally tapping her fingers against the leather of the couch, and for what seemed like an eternity, she waited in the darkness. She flinched every time she thought she heard mumbling from the room, but the thick walls made it difficult to tell if the noise was coming from the room or if it was even voices at all. After what could have been five minutes or the entire night, the door reopened; the smell of food and toxins gone from the form.

A grin spreading across her face, Katlyn drifted her fingers to the switch on the lamp, and waited for the form to step directly in front of her. As the steps aligned with the center of the couch, Katlyn flicked the switch, letting the light blind this person.

The form let out a soft "ah" in surprise and tried to shield her eyes.

Even with the lamp pointed away from her, Katlyn adjusted her eyes slowly. "I would be quiet if I were you. It would be quite terrible if I were to yell and catch somebody's attention wouldn't it?"

No response. Katlyn blinked a few times to make sure she was seeing the correct image. In front of her, was the form of a little girl; couldn't have been older than 12 or 13. Katlyn shook the pity off.

"That's what I thought. So, would you mind telling me what you were doing in that kid's room over there?"

Complete silence.

"Okay, when I say be quiet that doesn't mean don't talk at all. Don't you know how this works? Now, I'll ask again and speak up this time, sweety. What are you doing here?"

The girl kept a hand in between her and the light, but didn't respond. Coming into focus was a small servant girl, and evidently from her lack of speech, an Avox.

"What?" Katlyn tried to form coherent words. "Uh…I thought you'd be Matt or some tribute. Not just some girl."

The girl slowly removed her hand blocking her face and aimed her gaze into Katlyn eyes. Such a determined and hardened look from such a fragile girl caught Katlyn off guard, but she regained her composure. "Well, what are you doing here, then?"

Finally recovering, she put her hand to mouth, miming eating, and pointed towards Aaron.

"Mmmhmm. And, how did he tell you he wanted something?"

Katlyn noticed the smallest of nervous trembles in the girl's hands, as the girl extended her pinkie and thumb, feigning a phone call.

"Yup. Of course, dear." Katlyn shook her head. "Now, stop lying to me and tell me the truth."

The trembling increasing by the seconds, the girl desperately tried to make Katlyn believe this was the truth.

"He told me was completely full when he left for bed, so I'm guessing he wouldn't really want anything this late." The girl shrunk down under the light. "But even if he did, I happened to be sleeping by this phone," she pointed, "the only one in the suite."

The girl began to inch toward the door.

Katlyn laughed. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. Believe me, wherever you could run, I could follow." The girl backed into the corner instead, fear growing on her face. Katlyn composed herself and chose her next words carefully. "So, little one, if I go into that room, will I find Aaron alive?"

The girl simply stared at her with her bright blue eyes, tears ready to form.

"Well?"

She shook her head.

Katlyn rose from the couch, and walked up to the girl. The girl flinched at first, only relenting when she felt Katlyn's hand on her shoulder, leading her to the couch. As the small girl sat down, Katlyn brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. "What's your name?"

After opening her mouth for a brief second, the girl stopped, took her finger and wrote the letters of her name into the air.

"R-O-S-E." Katlyn whispered the letters in her motherly voice as the girl conducted her finger. "That's a very pretty name."

A feigned smile appeared on Roses lips, but she couldn't hold it there for long.

"So, Rose," Katlyn found the girl's hands and cupped them, "oh why would you do something like this?"

Rose merely stared down at her sweaty and trembling hands.

"Did someone force you to do this?"

A small smile appeared on her lips as she remembered the boy who gave her something to hope for, but she forced it back down.

"That smile tells me that it wasn't quite by force, was it? In fact, I've seen that smile before; someone has a little crush." Rose shook her head, but Katlyn ignored it. "Some cute boy? Someone who can dress himself? Someone who thinks he's quite funny, has a certain charm to his smile? I wonder who it could be?" Rose remained as stoic as possible. "There are so many interesting tributes here. There's Rhett, Zach, Jacob….Matt?" The façade broke as Rose lit up and shook her head.

"Oh dear. Did you really fall for _that guy_? Silly, stupid girl. And the minute that you did, he told you to kill someone for him. What a good start." Katlyn chuckled.

Tears tripping down her face, Rose wanted to scream, to yell at this girl, but nothing would come out of her mouth.

"Well, I could go to the authorities right now, and as much as I'd love the thought of them getting angry that we killed each other a little too early for their liking, I'm not going tattle on you right now." Rose wiped the tears from her face and stared at Katlyn. "Nope. Because…well, between you and me, I didn't really care for that Aaron kid much anyway, and having the only person with a point higher from the judges than me out of the games is quite helpful. Good choice." Rose felt like vomiting at the praise she was receiving. "So," Katlyn shooed Rose off the couch, "hurry up and leave. You don't want to get caught."

The small girl stumbled off the couch and teetered toward the door.

Katlyn brought her finger to her lips and whispered. "Shhhh!"

Rose gave a weak smile and walked out the door, heading back to Matt to tell him what had happened.

The second the lock on the door clicked, Katlyn picked up the phone, smiling, twirling the cord around her finger.

"Yes. Security? I have something to report."

* * *

><p>-Katlyn: Day 9 of the Hunger Games-<p>

So. Yup. That is my little story there. There were some more details, but that was about it.

It was so exciting. And now, there is just me and this tree. Not that I'm lonely or anything.

I laughed and finally spoke out loud. "Who are you kidding, Katlyn? You've been talking to yourself for the last half hour. You can't really say you're doing fine." I sighed. "What do I do now, though?"

I felt like there was someone else thinking the same thing.

* * *

><p>-Matt: Day 9 of the Hunger Games-<p>

And, it's come down to this has it?

Black ash clinging to my clothes, I still sat in the dead ring around the Cornucopia, hoping, yet dreading, that something would actually happen.

Marcus gone. Shelby gone. Rachel gone. Zach…gone. I was all by myself. I would usually be able to find the humor in it, if I wasn't part of the tragedy. Is it a tragedy though? I was winning, wasn't I?

I chuckled to myself.

Yup. Completely and totally winning here. Two dead friends, no supplies besides a sword, psychedelic flowers surrounding me, this is the image of a winner here. I'm eager to go home, and live with this the rest of my life. I can use all that money I'll get to buy happiness, friends, and my innocence back. The Capitol is great, isn't it?

That was sarcasm by the way.

I wondered if it was honorable or pitiable that I could still make jokes after all this. Well, besides for some black ash, and dirt, how much else did I really have left? I had my sword, and all the bloodstains that went with that. I also had my memories, but I didn't really want those anymore. That was about it really. Well, and these goddam roses.

Rose.

Geez. I'm like the King Midas of misery. Everything I touch breaks down or dies.

After wiping my fingers on the few unsoiled patches on my shirt, I reached into and pulled out a rough, crinkled, worn paper; though, barely two weeks old.

_ I wanna see you get out of there alive, promise?_

Sighing, I let wind take the slip of paper out of my hands.

"Yeah."

Instead of sending the slip into the distance, the wind flicked it back into my face, along with the briefest scent of the roses around me. The smell tickled my nose.

As I considered what I was about to do, I laughed to myself "Well, there's really nothing else to do, is there? I might as well, eh?"

Lifeless, I walked to the edges of the circle, the sweet smell intensifying with each step. A small dizziness came over me, but I powered through it, plucked a rose from the ground, and inhaled.

It smelled beautiful, but it quickly lost its mystical quality the longer I held it there. I braced myself for it to hit me, for me to lose my mind, for my mind to forget.

Something. Anything. Nothing?

I cursed. "Oh come on. Seriously? The one time I want something bad to happen to me. If there is such a thing as karma, sooner or later, I better get something to make all this up to me. Infinite knowledge? Meaning of life? Chocolate covered lesbians? I don't know, we'll have to work something out.

"I'm not any of those things, but I hope I'm enough."

I flipped around. In front of my eyes was an impossibility, a paradox, a ghost.

"R-Rose? Is that you?"

She smiled and waved. As she opened her lips, actual sounds projected from her mouth. "Pretty much, yeah."

I tried to form a coherent sentences, something elegant that I could use to express my myriad of emotions. All that came out was: "guh".

"I've told it to you once, and I'll tell you again: thanks for giving me a voice."

"So, you're here?"

Rose exaggerated all of her lip movements, happy to let each syllable pop off her tongue like gymnast on a springboard. "Yes. I am, Matt."

Pulling on my hair, I looked up at the sky. I asked for this didn't I? "No, you're not here."

"I seem pretty 'here' to me."

"No, you're not here. They," I pointed to the heavens, "are toying with me like they always have. You're not here. You're made-up; a figment of my imagination, and a piece of their fiction."

As I bent down my head, she was in front of me. Her blue eyes stabbing my own."Does that mean I'm not real to you though?"

"You're a hallucination. That pretty much defines 'not real'."

She shrugged. "Just because I'm a work of imaginations doesn't mean I'm not real to the people who care about me."

I thought about what she said. Sitting there, staring at Rose, the girl I pretty much killed, I tried to think about what she said. I can't really say if it was the crazy roses or this crazy Rose, but I had to agree.

She smiled and hugged me. I wasn't sure if I was imagining the feeling, though. "You agree then?"

I sighed. "I guess I do."

"Okay. Now that you do, I have something to remind you of." In her hand, appeared the slip of paper with her handwriting. "You promised me that you would make it out of here."

I refused it. "I promised you that I would see you again. That is something that isn't going to happen. You're dead."

She looked up to me and smiled. "Oh, I am very much alive. I'm alive somewhere in a prison cell deep within the Capitol. And believe me, I'm watching, and waiting for you to get out this alive."

I shook my head. "You're lying to me. It's more Capitol tricks to keep this interesting."

Rose shrugged, and began to fade away. "It could be...but would you really take that chance?"

I chuckled and gave her a look. "This is just mean, you know that?"

She giggled and waved goodbye as she completely vanished. "See you soon."

In two different places, both Katlyn and Matt had the same thought.

_I'm tired of this. I'm tired of talking to myself. I'm tired of doing nothing. I'm tired of being alone. I think...I think it's time I ended this._


	31. Chapter 31: Penultimate

-Sabadosh: Day 10 of the Hunger Games-

Nothing.

No communication. No orders. No information from the outside world.

Neither McAvoy nor the director. I'm beginning to doubt this whole thing. Was I just changing from one mysterious shadow to another?

I tapped my fingers against the armrest. Those left in the control room ocnintued to ignore me. In front of me, only the most necessary staff was in front of me; I had sent the rest away before the lockdown. As if to remind us of the fact that there was no escape, two heavy men stood by the door like fat apes, the Capitol insignia on their bulbous chest. Every attempt at leaving ended in one of the two guards grunting at us to stay put as he waved around his gun.

I smiled. _I guess I should feel lucky, being treated like such a V.I.P._

Though no information came into the room, the constant ringing of bullets above and the faint alarms were enough to suggest that a war was most certainly going on above us.

_A full blown war. What is the point of keeping this stupid game up? It has to be a matter of Capitol pride at this point. Someone above has not yet realized how much of a failure this Inter-district benefits programs turned out to be. _

I sighed. Two weeks ago, I had such high hopes. It's almost funny how quickly this IB program ruins those.

* * *

><p>-Sabadosh: 7 Days until the Hunger Games-<p>

_They just don't shut up do they?_

I cleared my throat. "Hey, kiddos." Nobody looked my way. They probably couldn't hear me. I tried to speak up. "Um, hey guys. Guys…"

"SHUT IT." Instantly, they all turned towards me and paid attention.

"Um, thank you, McAvoy."

"No problem. The other advisors and I will be in the next room, have fun with them."

Most of the other advisors shuffled out the room, I was left with thirty teenagers staring at me blankly, waiting for me to speak. In front of each of them sat an empty plate, ready to filled, but they seemed like they would rather be talking than listen.

A ginger girl, (Rachel, I think, but I was still trying to learn names) spoke up from the group. "What? Do you have something to say?"

I nodded my head. "Um, yes. I would just like to say welcome to the IB program." I began clapping. With a meager amount of enthusiasm, they followed suit. "Yeah, and more specifically, welcome to the first IB dinner." I snapped my fingers and the waiting staff set the food on the table. "I hope you enjoy this chance to get to know each other." Taking a large water jug from a small Avox girl, I watched as it was passed around, each person pouring some for themselves and passing it on.

To the right of me, a girl attention was buried deep in some strange device. Jill turned to her. "What you reading there, Katy?"

Katy put the device away and took the pitcher. "Oh, just another story."

Beside them, Evan twiddled with his fork. "Chau, everyone here looks pretty capable. Can we do this?"

Chau shook his head and pointed towards the food. "Eat now, worry about that stuff later. We'll be fine." He smiled and the passed food to the boys next to him.

As Rhett squinted to try to identify what type of meat was in front of him, he gave up and tapped Jacob on the shoulder. "Hey, Jacob."

Classically conditioned to the words, Jacob placed his hand on his face to protect himself. "You are not getting me this time."

Behind Rhett, Colin placed bacon on his plate. "Guys, what are you doing?"

Shelby piped up from across the table. "Colin, don't ask. Just accept it."

Beside her Zoë whispered to Jill. "What _are _they doing?"

Jill shrugged. "I don't know, but then again, I don't really care."

From across the table, Miranda shouted at Jill and Zoë, "Hey, what are you guys talking about?"

"Nothing Miranda." Lindsey rolled her eyes. "Anyway, Kamila, as I was saying, I really liked your outfit at the introduction."

Kamila smiled. "Thank you. District One usually had really good outfits."

"Yeah," Allie snarked, "better than District four's bathing suits."

Listening in, Eva smiled. "Well at least, you didn't have to wear that fish outfit from last year."

Danielle shuddered. "If I had to wear that, I would probably just run away."

"Or swim away! Ha!" Andrew spoke from across the table. All the girls glared at him and turned away. "Aw."

Aaron patted him on the back. "_I _thought it was funny."

Eric nodded in agreement. "You just need to work on your delivery, Andrew." Eric felt a poke in his side.

Remington glared at him. "Eric, I wasn't done talking about ponies. I already talked to David this morning. Wasn't it great, David?"

David said nothing.

Beside him, Kaxee slumped in her chair, about to drift off into sleep. Right before she hit her food, Savannah poked her. Kaxee jumped. "What? Who? Where am I?"

Savannah laughed, her necklace jingling on her chest. "Um, you're here. Wherever here is."

"Good point, where are we?" Jon said in between shoveling mouthfuls of steak.

"The trains headed west, so I assume somewhere in the center of the continent, maybe by some mountain range." Patrick adjusted his glasses.

Mia stared into the distance, and spoke to no one in particular. "

"Woah, how'd you do that?" Marcus seemed utterly amazed.

"Oi, Marcus, pay attention to me! I was talking to you." Rachel tapped her fingers against the table.

"Rachel, you are completely running this meal I am having right now. Gosh." Matt feigned anger.

"Matt," Zach shook his head and smiled. "No."

I was so engrossed in everyone else's' conversations that I failed to see Katlyn, peeking over her plate and turning to me. "Soooooo, meow."

Covering my full mouth, I spoke. "I'm sorry?" _Did she meow at me?_

"Got something planned for us then?" Her smile had the tiniest hint of malice.

"Um, yeah." I nodded. "I'm really excited for you all. I can't wait to see everyone do their very best! With some instruction and guidance, I know you all can do well."

* * *

><p>-Sabadosh: Day 10 of the Hunger Games-<p>

That felt like six months ago, not a few weeks.

Only Mia, Katlyn, and Matt are left, but for how long? And, I am simply sitting here, waiting for something to happen.

Well, something was about to happen.

As I almost fell asleep at my seat, a small beep came from behind me. Then another and another. The beeps started out slow, but quickly increased in frequency. Everyone on staff turned towards the source of the beeping, the exit door. The beeping reached its peak and an explosion rocked the entire bunker, as the sole entrance was lost in a cloud of dust. Sound rebounding within our metal casket; I tried to understand what was going on. In the confusion, I heard the two guards crying out for help but they were quickly silenced by…some tall girl?

"Uh…sorry. I didn't mean to hit that hard. Are you coming, Nathan?"

A boy about her age, Nathan apparently, stepped forward, staring at the unconscious bodies. "Not bad, Halle. Anyways," he turned towards the hallway, "all clear McAvoy!"

He stumbled into the room. "Aw. You guys took all the fun." His eyes scanned the room until they fell upon me. "Ah, Sabadosh. I've been meaning to find you."

"Uh…" As I was about to start my endless line of questioning, McAvoy strolled past me and began to type wildly on my computer.

"Hey, Halle."

"Yes?" The tall girl straightened up.

"Your sister is in prison cell D7. It's way underground. I have some other business to attend to, so you are on your own for this one."

She nodded. "Alright. Nathan, will you come with me?"

Nathan nodded enthusiastically. "Hell yeah. I'm coming." With that, both of them rushed out of the room.

"Hey, McAvoy! Will you slow down and explain what is going on?"

As he continued to type on the computer, he tilted his head in my direction. "I think you would have figured that out already." He paused. "The war has been taken to the Capitol. Thanks to your distraction and my…well everything really… both the president of IB program and that other president are dealt with. All we have to do is take the city from the remaining forces. Not that that is an easy feat, mind you. But be proud, you helped bring down the Capitol. Hopefully, history will be kind to you."

I wanted to pull my hair out. "Wait wait wait. Are you saying to me the rebels are going to win?"

McAvoy smiled and laughed. "I wouldn't call us rebels anymore, but yeah, that's about right."

I began pacing around the room. "Th-that's great. A free Capitol…I can hardly imagine it! But…but what about the remaining three in the arena? Are they going to be okay? You promised me you were going to send a rescue, right?"

McAvoy stopped typing and face me. "Well…"

"Well?" I slammed my fist against the counter. "I want to see these kids alive."

McAvoy flinched. "Look. I've done the best I can. I sent some airships other to the arena. The problem is…so did the Capitol. I guess they have this idea that if they can't have their toys, no one can. I don't know who will get there first. Our best chance might be to shut down the force field."

I shook my head. "If we shut down the force field, they'll be set loose in the real world."

"Yup."

"I won't be able to watch them anymore and help them. Those three barely made it through the IB program. They can't handle it out in the real world alone."

McAvoy put on a weary smile, and placed his hand on my shoulder. "I know it's hard, but I know that those kids can handle it out there on their own."

McAvoy hit one last key. On the screen, an option flashed.

_Shut down power? Accept/Cancel_

Did I have that much faith in these kids? Did I think that could handle themselves without me? Was this their best chance?

I hit the 'accept' key.


	32. Chapter 32: The IB Program

-Matt: Day 10 of the Hunger Games-

The Inter-district Benefits Program.

The IB Program.

The end. This is the end, isn't it? It better be. I couldn't bear the thought of this going on any longer. It's today. It has to end today.

How is it going to end? It's a mystery to me.

What was once a nice little forest was now in chars. Even the infectious roses had withered away. The only thing I saw alive was an occasional bird; they had the luxury to escape from the death whenever they wanted. Both the water and sky were soiled with thick ashes, leaving the air nearly unbreathable and the water pretty much undrinkable.

_That's depressing. Let's think positively. What do I have to help me here?__  
><em>  
>I have the clothes I'm wearing, blood stained and filthy. I have one sword, also blood stained and filthy, though in a metaphorical sense; one metal container of water not lost in the fire, and random pieces of food that weren't burnt completely beyond recognition. That's about it.<p>

_The average selection of belly button lint in the Capitol has more value than this. So much for thinking positively._

Then again, Katlyn was worse off, well, at least I hoped so.

An absurd image flashed in my mind of Katlyn firing twin pistols, covered in ammo, bursting out of the trees.

They wouldn't give anyone guns in the games, right? Right?

I thought for a moment. Naw, that would be too boring for them. Too quick. If I remember correctly, she has a sword, shorter than mine, and not much else. That wasn't really comforting; I knew what she could do with that little, but still... Better than nothing.

While I gathered what I still had left, I dragged my sword behind me, drawing a snake across the black soot. I could have been out of here a long time ago, but I wanted to make sure I got everything. I wasn't afraid or anything like that.

I wondered whether I had to even go out and find Katlyn. From what I've seen, I don't think she'd be someone who likes to wait around for something to happen to her. She was probably already getting ready for me, planning, scouting, finding me. In fact, she could be behind me at this very moment!

I spun around, swinging my blade; the tip flung black soot into the air.

Dust whooshed around the sword, but she wasn't behind me. Nothing was behind me. After its sole disruption of the day, the soot settled back down.

I sighed. "Come on. What do I have to be worried about? She's just some girl. Nothing intimidating about that." I felt my heart beat against my chest. "Nothing at all. I just have to kill her. That's how all this ends. There is one victor. I've been training for this all my life. Zach and I have gone through thousands of simulations, hundreds of hours of training, ten years of work, for this one game. This ends with me killing her. I got this."

I looked up to see the sun rising to its noon position. I began to wander around the familiar circle. "Well, maybe, I should wait for tomorrow. I mean there really isn't a due date for this assignment, so I don't have to do it at any particular time. Just eventually. Eventually…"

I flipped around, walking in the opposite direction. "No. I have to do this today. I have to get myself out of here. Just me."

Rachel's words rung in my mind: "What can the Capitol do to us if we work together?"

The thought lingered just long enough to stick in my mind. "No. No. No. That's stupid. I would be risking my own life for some girl I barely know. It's not worth it. Nothing is worth that." I shook my head. "The Capitol picked me for being one of the smartest people in the country. I don't need anyone else. From the beginning of this program, to the end of it, it will be just me. No one else was with me when I went through all the tests and the trials. No one was with me during the cold dark nights staying up late. No one cared. It has always been just me. I can do this, and I can do this alone." I stabbed the ground, piercing the rocky outer surface into the vulnerable layer underneath. The blade slumped over and fell.

I sighed. "What the hell am I doing?" I kicked the blade. "I'm talking to myself when I should just be going out there. Screw reason, screw emotion. The only way of knowing what needs to be done is by doing it now and questioning it later." I pulled the blade from the ground, and crossed the barrier around the circle, into the forest. "No more procrastinating."

* * *

><p>-Katlyn: Day 10 of the Hunger Games-<p>

"Meow." I dripped the last drop of water onto my tongue. "Oh well." I tossed the container into the distance and continued to stomp forward. I thought I could have made those two gallons of water last more than a day and a half, but whatever. I would be done with this soon. Then, the Capitol would shower me with anything I could ever ask. I could create and entire new lake of water. "Lake of Katlyn? Katlyn's lake? Laklyn?" I laughed.

"And, that would only be one of things I get when I win. They'll give me unlimited money, fame, glory, all the pie I could ever ask for!" I strutted through the forest around me, putting dying foliage out of its misery as I went. Flinging my hands up in the air, I laughed again. "I wonder how much pie it takes to fill the darkest corner of your soul; wherein lies the memories of murder and loved ones dying in front of you. Probably at least four pies. Maybe three if one was pineapple."

"That wouldn't even be the best part!" I avoided stepping on the corpse of another starved rodent. "After today, I will never have to think for myself again. I will just obey orders from someone else, from the Capitol or from whoever they think should be my mate. I will have a "happily ever after" ending once I leave." I snarked. "I can't wait to get out of here!"

I dropped the fake smile and clenched my fist. "But, I am getting out of here. I've been the strongest, fastest, cleverest, and smartest person in these stupid games. Now, Matt is probably waiting for me, planning and laughing manically, conjuring some trap, trick or façade to fool me. Well, it's not going to work, nuh-uh. It's time for that snake to die. You have to cut off their heads, right?" In my head, the speech was met with thunderous applause, but in reality, the only sound was the leaves rustling above me.

While the leaves seemed to enjoy their daily dose of sunlight for photosynthesis, the heat pounding on me from the sun was less than pleasant. "I wonder if that sun is real. I would almost be impressed if it wasn't. It feels so damn hot."

Though I had been crashing through this forest for a while, waiting for Matt to make an appearance, he seemed to either be too much of coward to come get me or too stupid to find me. I really wasn't making it very difficult; there was pretty much a straight trail of debris from where I had been walking. I called out. "Hello? Anyone listening to little old me? No? Good." Only creepers watch people while they aren't aware.

Oh well. I knew where Matt was: snuggled in his little Cornucopia, probably fat and happy. "Stabbing him would be like carving a turkey….Actually, how 'bout not. Gross thought." I meowed to myself; it was long and drawn out, somewhere between a yawn and a scream. "Anyways, I should probably stop procrastinating, huh? It'd be better to walk up there and kill him."

Chau's words rung in my mind. "I think there's a way to resolve all of this where we won't have to kill each other."

The thought lingered just long enough to stick in my mind. "No. No. No. That's stupid. Of course, I have to kill him. They are making me do this. They are making me prove that I am the best. It isn't my fault; this is just the world we are in. It forces us to do these things. So, I'm just going with the flow, man. This is what I perceive and what others have told me." I tried to convince my invisible audience.

I sighed. "What the hell am I doing? I'm talking to myself again. Isn't that, like, one of the signs of insanity? Or, is it something completely normal? The human sciences are so confusing."

I whispered. "Come on, Matt. Where are you?"

"Right behind you."

* * *

><p>-Matt: Day 10 of the Hunger Games-<p>

Sure. I had ruined my element of surprise, but seeing a confused look on Katlyn's face was probably worth it.

I dove out from behind the trees, jabbing my blade through the leaves, but Katlyn leapt away. Giddy at the fact that I put Katlyn on the defensive, I continued my onslaught, furiously swiping and stabbing at whatever piece of tan skin was exposed to me. Annoyingly, Katlyn was like a rabbit on stimulants, hopping away wildly from anything I could swing at her. She didn't even look like she as trying to hit me.

I gnashed my teeth together and used all my force to aim at her chest, attempting to slash into her soft underbelly.

Girls are like turtles, right? Soft underside, tough exterior?

Surprised by my speed, Katlyn tried her best to dodge, and she succeeded, mostly. In avoiding my blade, she rammed into a nearby tree and fell to the ground. Unfortunately, as she dodged, my blade swept through the newly vacated air and crashed into the tree. The metal broke through the outer epidermis and into the ground tissue, lodging itself firmly into the plant. I began to pull the blade from the bark, and Katlyn orientated herself. Before she could draw her own blade, I ripped the sword from the bark, shattering the fledgling tree, and readied myself to thrust it into Katlyn while she was still vulnerable.

Yet, Katlyn had a different plan. As I raised the sword over my head, Katlyn delivered a swift kick to my groin.

_Bitch._

She smirked, as pure pain surged through my body with the force of a thousand suns. Instead of going on the offensive, like I assumed she would, she stuck out her tongue at me and ran off into the forest. I bit my lip, sucked up the pain like a man, and began limping in her direction.

Every step reminded me how much evolution does not like potential children to be messed with, but I tried to keep up with her the best I could. What she lacked in instant reaction time and strength, she made up with endurance. Though she occasionally stumbled across a stray bush or plant, all my hours of upper body work-outs at the gym did not prepare me for how far she was able to go.

Despite this, I slowly began to catch up to her, though I wasn't sure if it was due to the empowering flow of adrenaline coming out of my groin or her own plan. Nearing a distance of arms-length, Katlyn pivoted, bursting from the shadows of the forest, into the light. I grabbed a tree, and swung 90 degrees after her, but she had disappeared into the glare of the sun between the trees. Undaunted, I followed her into the sunlight and came to an open field. To my dismay, she had completely vanished, and all that was left in my field of vision was dead grasses. Panting, I unsheathed my sword and tried to decide where she had run off to.

In between harsh breaths, I whispered, "Where'd you go?"

"Since you were so courteous…"

I flipped around to see Katlyn sneering and lunging her short-sword at my face. My shoes dug into the dry dirt as I felt the weight of Katlyn's full body force against my parry. Inches away, she blew a strand of hair out of her face, and retreated backwards. Arms and legs sore from running, the sword felt twice as massive as it had been, but I did my best to repost. She parried it, causing an audible 'clang' and 'shink' as the blades came together and glided across each other.

I didn't know how long we could keep this up. Though she had more endurance, she too, was a tad bit slower than before. Every blow we exchanged caused only the most minor of injuries, but they began to add up. Creeks of blood rose from the fissures in our skin, and our clothes were beyond the hope of even the most skilled tailor. Sweat and blood leaked from my forehead, coming together to form one large drop. As I flipped my hair to keep it looking nice, the congealed drop fell to the ground.

This couldn't last much longer. Both of us drew back our swords and swung them at each other, but the resulting collision, along with our fatigue, sent both blades flying from our hands. The force shattered her sword into a shower of silver shards, while my blade cracked in two. The jagged half that was still attached to the hilt embedded itself in the ground.

As the sword bits landed a few feet away, we both looked up at each other. Her dark amber eyes met my blue ones. Something was communicated there. I couldn't tell you exactly what it was. I wish I could find the words, but there seems to be some issue of language. If I were pressed, I would say it was something between respect, hatred, admiration, derision, and comradery. So respatredmirisionery? Why don't we have a word for this, people?

Our communication was broken simultaneously as we both glanced towards the remaining weapon. As we were about to dive for it, presumably clawing and kicking as we went, the world itself broke down. Literally.

A thunderous noise boomed across the sky, and completely forgetting about the fight, we stared upwards, mouths agape.

Across the sun, there was a minuscule line. It started as a little crack, like a baby bird trying to break through its eggshell, but it was spreading into a spider web, draping across the sky.

I looked down to make sure Katlyn was seeing the same thing I was. I furrowed my brow, and she acknowledged me. Another boom drew both of us back.

By then, the large cracks had splintered, covering the rest of the sky to the horizon. As we stared in awe, the last of the lines stretched out as much as they could. Then…nothing happened.

"That's it? Come –"

A bolt of electricity surged between the seams and shattered the sky into millions of pieces. Katlyn screamed. Well, maybe it was me, but I'm not usually that high-pitched I swear. Regardless, we covered our heads as tiny pieces of glass rained from the sky. Most bounced off harmlessly, but there were a few that found a sweet spot in the newly formed rips in our clothing. Once the downpour was reduced to a tiny trickle, I looked up. At first, I thought I had gone blind, like a piece of glass went through my skull or something, but then Katlyn spoke.

"Who turned out the lights?"

I breathed a sigh of relief. Slowly, my eyes adjusted to the dark. Katlyn peeked out from under her arm and stared into the sky. "Ha! I knew it. The sun was totally a fake. It's night time right now. I knew my circadian rhythm was disrupted! I'm right again! Ow. Damn it. That piece of glass almost got in my eye."

I brushed glass from my hair. "What the hell? They turned off the force field? Why? Who popped our bubble?"

In response, the jaunty theme of the Capitol began to play, though as it almost reached a crescendo, the speakers began to reduce the classical nonsense into rhythmic "dubs" and "wubs". Though it sounded like the speakers were having a seizure, I liked it. But sadly, just as I was starting to enjoy it, the sound was cut off and an image floated in the sky; not of dead tributes, but a very alive Sabadosh.

The screen flickered as she spoke. In the background, people screamed and gun fire blared. "Guys…I'm so…sorry…Capitol…coming…You have to…McAvoy's sending …they… safe…not safe…"

_McAvoy? My advisor? What was going on?_

"Sorry kiddos…his…safe…Capitol is coming…run!...Run!"

The screen went blank and was replaced with the night sky. "Okay. The Capitol is coming, and we need to run. That much is obvious, but what was she saying about McAvoy? I—oh, shit!"

I dove out of the way of my own jagged blade, being wielded by Katlyn.

"Seriously? Now is not the time, woman. We need to get out of here."

Katlyn laughed. "Oh come on, seriously? Are you going to play their game? You can't really be gullible enough to believe them, can you?"

I stopped to think. _Is there a chance that this is a trick? There could be, but still... there's a chance that it's not._

"Look," I sidestepped another swing. "They might be lying to us, but even then, it doesn't matter."

Katlyn tried to coordinate the half-blade into obeying her commands, but the weight wasn't quite what she was used to, so the swings were uncoordinated enough for me to continue to dodge. I kept retreating as I talked. "It doesn't matter because even if they are lying to us, and this is still part of the games," I took a deep breath. "What can the Capitol do to us if we work together?"

* * *

><p>-Katlyn: Day 10 of the Hunger Games-<p>

Matt slipped, allowing me to point the blade inches from his face.

"That sounds really cute. But here in reality, everything isn't so much marshmallows and unicorns. They could kill us. That's what." I shook my head. "Look. I have no idea why I'm even talking to you. Have fun in whatever version of the afterlife people like you belong in."

He closed his eyes. "Wait, isn't there a way to resolve all of this where we don't have to kill each other?" I paused, and he poked open one eye.

I was so close.

I lowered the blade. "Damn it, Chau. You couldn't just let me kill him, could you? Stupid, conscience." I grumbled. "Fine. I won't kill you."

Matt backed away. "I have no idea what you just said, but I'm glad we can agree. Let's work together for now, yeah?"

Matt motioned for the remainder of his blade, but I swiveled out of his reach and walked away. "No, Katlyn. That was my blade. See? It's bigger."

I shook my head. "Nope. It's mine now. Deal with it."

Matt mumbled something about emasculation, and knelt down to salvage something from the broken pieces of my old sword. Sadly for him, nothing could really be used without cutting yourself more than your opponent.

As he rose from the ground, I raised my finger and wagged it in his face. "Look. I'm not going to kill you, but I don't trust you either, got that? This is just a means to an end."

Matt grinned. "Well, if you're not going to kill me, and I'm not going to kill you, it looks like we're the winners of the 75th annual Hunger Games. Right about now, they should be showering us with money, confetti, and strippers. Male strippers too. Not for me. For you. You get the male strippers. I don't flip that burger, yo."

Against my better judgment, I laughed at his lame attempt at humor, and he joined in. As we calmed down, I was the first to say something. "Well then, we need to get out of here. That's what the lady in the sky said. Come. Come." I began to walk away from the clearing. Then, a thought came to me. "But, are we forgetting something?"

Matt scratched his chin. "Well, now that you mention it…"

We both cursed in unison as we realized who we forgot. "Damn it."

* * *

><p>-Mia: Day 10 of the Hunger Games-<p>

_They're coming!__They're coming!_

Now that the barriers have been broken, the angels will try to pick us up, or maybe they are demons. I'm not really sure.

But the job's not done yet, is it? There is still some fun to be had. _They _are still alive, mocking me, prancing around with their heads full of eyeballs.

Dead leaves slapped me as I sprinted through the forest. I knew where those two were. They were so close this whole time! The screams came from only a quarter of a mile away. Miles; such an imprecise and illogical unit. I felt scandalous using it.

Among all the numerous pointy objects I hid beneath my clothing, there was something else, something much more fragile. I patted the small object in my pocket.

_Maybe, I wouldn't have to use this again after all._

I smiled and whispered to whatever was listening. "I was getting so bored, wasn't I? Just wandering in the darkness by myself, but now that I can find you, you can join me. What's in me, is in you somewhere. What will it take to bring it out, I wonder?"

I slowed my pace; about a hundred yards away. "Swords? Words? Which are more potent?" I ran my fingers across the daggers hidden underneath my clothing. "They are equally as fun." I silenced a growing giggle as I came within mere feet of where they were. I've heard bears make less noise, galumphing through the forest. They make terrible predators; good prey though.

I crept through the bushes and watched them trying to hobble away. They were already so damaged. Disregarding the numerous cuts, scrapes, and bruises they had incurred throughout the week, they each had their own major wound. The occasional stumble and odd gait told me Katlyn had a damaged calf, and the limited swing of Matt's arm indicated a damaged shoulder.

_You can slather as much Capitol drugs on them as want, but nature and time are the only things that heal. Too bad neither gives a damn about you._Fingers anxious, I slid one dagger from my sleeve, and twirled it around in my hand. They were only a few feet away, one throw would do it. Which to kill first? Katlyn probably. She deserved someone to show her up finally. I aimed and took a step forward.

Katlyn, leading in front, extended her arm and stopped Matt. "Did you hear that?"

I stopped and bit my lip. I couldn't take both of them. But, could I hit one before the other gets me?

"Yeah...it was coming from…" Katlyn's head tilted towards my hiding place. As she began to turn, I dropped my dagger on the ground and tripped out of the bush. I forced myself to the ground, and tried to look disheveled.

Both flinched; Matt retreating, and Katlyn pointing a broken, jagged sword in my direction. Before either could make any noise, I mustered up the most pathetic sobs and started to whimper. "I-I-I'm s-s-s-o g-glad I f-f-found you g-guys. I was s-s-oooooo s-scared."

Katlyn and Matt looked at each other skeptically.

Weakly, I pulled myself off the ground and looked up at them. As a pretended to wipe away a tear, I rubbed a little dirt in my eye, which caused actual tears to drip lightly down my face. "Wh-what's g-going on? C-can you guys h-help me? Please!"

Neither said anything. Matt backed away slowly, while Katlyn raised the blade further.

_Are you not entertained? This is my best acting. Believe it, dammit!_

"W-why aren't you g-guys saying anything? H-help me please. I'm in shock." I crawled forward and once again collapsed to the ground, but every inch I crawled forward, they recoiled. "What's wrong with you?" I snarled. "A poor helpless girl is pleading with you to save her. Has the IB Program turned you so numb that you'll ignore someone who is crying out for help?"

Finally, one of them spoke. It came out of the mouth of that pretty boy Matt. "That was quite an elegant sentence for someone who's in shock. You could barely say anything a second ago." He stared down at me with a mix of pity and fear, like I was a dying animal.

_I can't wait to cut that look off your face, you smug twat._

"What? I can't understand you. I'm too much in shock. Nothing makes sense." I turned to that other girl. "You know that he is a bad guy, right?" I crawled a few more inches, and this time, she didn't back away. "Yeah. You'll help me, right? Pretty girl." _Conceited idiot. Keep listening._ With my free hand, I nudged another dagger up my sleeve. "I'm just scared." I activated my baby-eyes and pouty face. _Let your maternal instinct kick in_. "Please…" I stretched my arm; I was so close.

"You know why we aren't buying this?" Matt turned away.

I froze.

Katlyn continued. "It's your eyes. They're not the eyes of a helpless girl. It's like you're off in your own world, which apparently, is a lot more fun than this one." She paused. "You have crazy eyes."

My head shook back and forth. "My eyes have always looked like this."

They both grinned. "Yeah, we know."

I shrieked and dove at whoever was closer to me. My dagger glanced across someone's shin, and I heard a feminine squeal of pain.

In reaction, and lacking a weapon, Matt tried to stomp my head in. Doing a barrel roll, I spun out of the way of both his shoe and Katlyn's blade that followed.

Instinct controlling my actions, I flipped upwards just in time to block Katlyn's next strike. My giddiness about Katlyn's angry face didn't last long. Katlyn bounced away and to replace her, Matt coiled back his fist and swung at my unguarded chest. The punch connected and expelled all the air from my lungs. I tried to keep from vomiting as I stumbled backwards.

My perception foggy, I flailed wildly, hoping to make contact with something. Katlyn backed off, but Matt dodged each swing and advanced. I tried to blink to regain focus, but every time my eyes closed I could see him get closer. It was like a vacation slideshow of my imminent death.

Finally, he slapped the dagger out of my hand. Before I could pull out another, the girl dove forward, digging the broken sword against my left arm. I knocked her last remaining weapon from her, but not until after the damage was done. Tiny pieces of the metal fang forced themselves under my skin, hooking on to each individual blood vessel. The teeth dug into me and ripped my skin apart.

"It hurts."

They both stopped.

"It hurts."

I gripped my arm with my other hand and felt the warm gooey liquid.

"It…It hurts."

I screamed.

* * *

><p>-Matt: Day 10 of the Hunger Games-<p>

Her hair, darkened by the night, covered her face completely. "You hurt me."

Both of us weren't sure what to do. Katlyn, lacking our last weapon, only stood there and watched. I could continue to punch, but I wasn't sure I wanted to. We exchanged a glance, trying to check if the other knew what to do.

"You hurt me." Her voice had gone from terrified to elated. What formed on her face started out as a grin, but quickly blossomed into a full smile. "Hehe."

"Katlyn. I think we should leave her." I tugged Katlyn's arm, but she didn't budge. "Katlyn."

Mia giggled. "Is this what they felt? In their last moments, is this what they felt?"

Katlyn clenched her fist and pulled away. "Right before you killed them?"

"Katlyn." I grabbed her arm. "Let's go. Now."

Mia's giggle escalated until she burst out laughing. "Ha! This is what you call pain? Pathetic. This is nothing. What I feel in my head every day of my life; _that_is pain. This is a joke."

She stopped smiling and laughing all at once. In fact, Mia seemed to stop moving completely. The only motion in my vision was the steady drip of red coming from her arm.

Silence filled the void. Not even the wind dared to disturb the scene. I had no idea what Katlyn was going to do; against all my effort, her feet seemed rooted to the ground.

Flicking her hair from her face, Mia finally looked up at us. Her voice came out in barely a whisper: "if I were you, I would run for my life." As I looked down, I could see the glimmer of steel peeking out of Mia's hand.

"Katlyn!" I jerked her arm towards me, finally uprooting her just as a blade flew through where her stomach had been. The blade lodged itself into a tree near us.

Katlyn shook her head. "Yeah. Run. I got it." Abandoning any form of weapon and defense, we fled back into the cover of the forest. I let Katlyn lead, and with one last look behind me, we sprinted away from that pure craziness. We struggled through every step; bushes and rocks tripped our feet below us, and above, tree branches slapped and scratched. Trying to avoid anything was pretty much pointless. The pitch black night didn't reveal an obstacle in your path until it was inevitable for you to hit it.

I resisted the urge to check behind us. I didn't think I heard her, but between the gasping and footsteps, I wasn't sure. She had snuck up on us before, so for all I know, she was right behind me.

The sound of metal embedding itself into wood resounded inches from my ears. Any fatigue I might have been feeling was washed away by another wave of adrenaline.

A laughed echoed from the trees. _Where the hell was she?_The sound seemed to come from the forest itself. "Hey, Matt. Katlyn. Please die."

Another dagger whizzed behind me. Katlyn pivoted to the left and tried to run in a different direction.

I couldn't tell if we were heading away from her or towards her. The voice spoke again. "Everyone else is gone. Do you really believe you're better than them?"

The smirk on Katlyn's face was audible, even if she was fleeing. As she ran, she shouted into no direction in particular. "Pretty much. Everything I've done in my life has told me I'm the smartest, fastest, and generally the best. Why should I doubt myself now?"

"Katlyn, not the time for sarcastic retorts."

Avoiding two more daggers, Katlyn turned left again and shushed me. "Shut up." As I was about to respond, a dagger slid across calf, slicing through the back of my pant leg. I bit my tongue, but did my best to ignore it.

Katlyn shouted again. "Oh, like you're one to talk, hypocrite. You're trying to kill us."

"The angels are coming. We're all going to be taken anyway."

"Sorry, I don't speak crazy." Katlyn turned left on last time, escaping from the trees once again.

Did we just make a giant circle?

A ways away from us, I could see where we started out. Katlyn turned to me and winked.

_What? We're supposed to be running away. There's nothing there, but...the daggers that Mia threw and our sword. There are not many times when I would admit I'm an idiot, but this would be one of them.__  
><em>  
>Giving into the temptation, I finally glanced behind us. The figure continued to follow, quickly closing the distance between us. She moved like a broken marionette, limps dangling without any real purpose or control. Only her right hand, holding up a dagger, seemed to have a goal: kill us.<p>

In front of me, Katlyn dove for the original dagger lodged in the tree. I turned to see Mia drawing back her arm. I put myself between Mia and Katlyn, closed my eyes, and heard her scream.

Mia. I heard Mia scream.

And then, she collapsed to the ground, a clump of tears and blood. Her own knife was buried deep within her chest.

Behind me, Katlyn grabbed my shirt and pulled herself from the ground. A thin line of blood, similar to the one on my leg, appeared on her arm. She tried to shake off the pain and directed my vision to where Mia was twitching.

Slowly, attempting to piece her body back together, Mia rose from the ground.

Katlyn clawed into my shirt and screamed. "Will you just die, already?"

Mia placed a finger to her lips.

Was she telling us to be quiet? I stopped and listened. Was there a small humming, or was it my imagination? Maybe, my ears were just broken. Beside me, Katlyn stepped forward. "Seriously, how many times do we need to do this? I mean—" Mia didn't move.

_Was it getting louder?_"Katlyn, shut up."

"Excuse me? You can—"

"Do you hear that?"

She stopped talking, and we listened. The humming sound (Was it a propeller, or a motor?) steadily grew louder. "Meow. What is it?"

Mia spoke. Her voice was steady and under control, deliberately so. "The angels are coming."

"What does that mean, Mia?"

She collapsed again.

Katlyn tapped my shoulder. "Sabadosh, said that someone, or something, was coming. Let's leave her and go." She pulled on my arm. I took one last fleeting look at Mia, and after a brief moment of hesitation, we left her there.

* * *

><p>-Mia: Day 10 of the Hunger Games-<p>

I heard the footsteps gradually fade from earshot as both of them abandoned me to die. In their place, the humming of angels vibrated the air.

Reaching into my pocket, I presented myself with my hidden treasure: the last living rose. Well, _Rosoideae muttanus_. Not quite a rose, but close enough. A name, by any other rose, is just as relevant.

I had hidden this in case of emergency. Of what emergency, I wasn't sure, but this seemed like a good enough time as any. Like me, the fragile form barely hung onto life. Hopefully, it still had enough pollen in it to do the job. I tickled my nose with the petal and inhaled. The pain was the first thing to go, and what was left of my mind went second.

"Is this seriously what I'm like?"

_What?_

"Don't 'what' me. I'm not this crazy or evil, right? Like in reality, people don't see me like this, right?"

I tried to make out the blurry outline in front of me, but nothing made sense.

"I mean I wouldn't say stuff that stupid. That's not me at all!"

The humming of an angel grew louder.

"Angel? Like, what's that about? You know it's a Capitol airship. Just say that." Again, I tried to decide who it was. She looked so familiar.

"Look, you. Well, I should say…Look, I... me…you….Gah! Pronouns are so confusing when you're talking to yourself. We'll stick to second person." Was this me? The combination of hallucinogens and blood loss is probably not good for you.

"Yes, drugs are bad, good job. Anyways, look, you almost got through the IB Program. That's pretty cool. At least you weren't one of the ones who dropped out early. I'm a little disappointed in you, but you can't be perfect."

The airship roared, and its blinding light passed over me.

She smiled down at me and waved. "Well, see you later. For what it's worth, _we_had fun at least."

The last thing I saw was a bright light. That's a good thing, right?

* * *

><p>-Matt: Day 10 of the Hunger Games-<p>

"So, what? We're just leaving her there?" Far behind us, the airship had stopped where Mia is…well, where she was.

"Matt, come on. Ignoring the fact that she tried to murder us, even if we wanted to take her, she would have been dead weight anyway. Pun totally intended." We tried to ignore the exhaustion threatening to take us. Only fear of the unknown forces above us kept us running. "Think of it this way. We didn't leave her there. We…decreased excess mass and prevented additional complications."

"Katlyn!"

She glared at me. "Oh, when did you suddenly grow a conscience?" _Yeah, I'm not going to respond to something that petty_. "She was crazy. Are you listening? Capital 'C' crazy." She smirked and looked up to the sky. "She was crazy! Are you listening, Capitol? See, crazy? Are you happy, now? You made a somewhat crazy girl, a completely crazy girl."

"We should have said goodbye to her at least."

Katlyn scoffed, but didn't say anything else.

The humming above us had transformed from a bumblebee to a twenty ton giant bumblebee in terms of volume. I had to admit that, if nothing else, the Capitol was efficient. Barely a few minutes passed between the shutdown of the force field and their entrance. I hoped that finding Mia would have delayed them for more than a few seconds. Even now, though the occasional increase and decrease in the humming told me that the ship was still scanning the forest and hadn't found us specifically, I could feel that they were getting closer to locating us.

_Why would the Capitol send airships over here if they're apparently in the middle of a battle? Exhausting precious resources to pick up some kids…something didn't add up._I considered sharing my thoughts with Katlyn, but I think she would respond with something along the lines of: "_It's not that complicated. They're vindictive jerks."_That may be true, but there was something else…

"Matt!" I broke from my concentration to see Katlyn pointing behind me. Can't we have a rest? Haven't we been put through enough? I followed her point and, in the distance, I could see a cone of light scanning the forest floor. Like the field of vision of giant eyeball, the beam darted back and forth between the trees, shrinking the gap with every sweep.

As we had done all night, our first instinct was to run. However, it didn't really process through our tired, fear-rattled brains that we could not run the speed of light. The light speeding towards us, my eyes darted across the forest floor, searching for another option. A few feet away, I saw something that would protect us. I grabbed Katlyn's hand and pulled her under the short canopy of the pine tree.

The moment we were both under, the light passed by us and the ship continued to search.

* * *

><p>-Katlyn: Day 10 of the Hunger Games-<p>

A branch full of pine needles scrapped across my face. "Ahhhhhhhhhh!"

His left hand still firmly grasping my right, Matt had to use his other hand to slap my mouth shut. "Shhhhh."

I tried to say: 'You've tried to shut me up twice today, so it's well within my rights to bite you', but it came out as. "Yvvve ggmmn nmm nbbbl mmnbb nmmmnn." Then, I bit him anyway.

"Ah!" He jerked his hand away and tried to shake off the pain. I pulled mine out of his grip. "What was that for? I just saved your life."

I tried to spit the taste of fresh blood and dirt out of my mouth. "You can't just grab me. I thought I made it clear that I didn't trust you."

"Whatever. We have to keep moving. There's—" Before he could finish his sentence, the white light passed over the tree.

_Why did I agree to go with this guy?_"Nope, not now, genius. They knew we were close to Mia, and they will keep patrolling this area until something happens. We're stuck here. There's nothing we can do but sit here and hope they don't find us." Seeing as I was going to be here awhile, I scooted away from Matt and tried to get comfortable.

Out of anywhere around us, I had to admit Matt had chosen the best place to hide. The pine tree we hid under had incredibly dense branches, shielding us from most of the light. Consequently, we couldn't see each other, but that didn't really matter as neither of us had weapons. I leaned on one side of the trunk and Matt leaned on the other. One could argue this position could let us see 360 degrees around the tree and avoid blind-spots, but it was mostly because we wanted to be as far away from each other as possible. Thankfully, the trunk was thick enough to provide a gap between us, and the branches left enough space between the ground and the lowest branch to let us lay comfortably. I cleared a space from the pine needles and took this chance to take a rest.

I flicked a needle off the branch in front of me. "We should have kept running."

Matt's voice, though barely a whisper, was clearly audible in the silence of the night. "Don't you ever get tired of running?"

I shrugged. "Not particularly. I love running. It gives me a chance to clear my head and just 'be'."

Matt sighed. "I've feel like I've done so much running lately. Running towards things, away from things. But, there's always more running to do. I can never seem to run fast enough to get away."

I considered his statement. "Maybe, you can't run away then."

"I don't know." Matt whispered. "Ever since I got into this IB Program, it's been one trial after another. It seems to exist to point out how slow I am. I want to get through it, but sometimes, I want to just keep running and never stop. Do you feel the same way…sometimes?"

"Yeah. Sometimes."

"You seem to be a better runner at me, though." I smiled at the compliment. "So, maybe you could actually get away."

"Maybe." The tiny spark of delight in me was quickly doused by another thought: _Katlyn, you're letting your guard down. Matt is being charming to get inside your head. Don't let him._My smile faded away. "Don't talk to me please." I heard him try to move closer to me, but I pulled away. The cone of light passed by us again.

"Katlyn, why won't you trust me?"

I rested my head in my hands, and in my most monotone voice I told him: "I've trusted some people before. Some things happened. They taught me that, maybe I shouldn't trust people, or that maybe they didn't deserve my trust. "

"I'm sorry." He sounded sincere, but…

"Yeah. Whatever…" I grabbed a piece of bark and bent it back and forth.

"Maybe you should—"

"Stop right there. I don't want your advice, okay?"

"If you'd just—"

"What do you know about trust?" My voice started to crack. "Everyone who trusted you is dead."

He moved away from me again. "That…wasn't my fault."

I laughed. "Really? Marcus didn't die because of you? Shelby didn't die because of you? Evan, Chau, Patrick, Mia, Rachel. Your list is pretty long. Even your "best friend" Zach—"

"SHUT UP!" I flinched. "What gives you the right to judge me?"

The piece of bark snapped in half. "I've never murdered anybody for one."

"Really?" His voice was derisive now, like he was holding back the punch line for a joke that I didn't get. "Let's talk about Shelby then."

"You released a jar of tracker jackers that killed her." I recalled all of the horrible welts and screams, but I suppressed the memory.

"No. That's wrong."

"Are you insane or stupid? They clearly—"

"They _would have_killed her. Something else happened first." I tried to swallow the ball in my throat. "I counted how long it took. It should have taken hours, but her cannon went off in minutes. I know Evan is too afraid to kill someone. Chau and Patrick were chasing us. That leaves…"

"That's different!"

"How so?" He asked.

"She was in so much pain." Her scream sounded so terrible. "She would have…she would have wanted me to do it."

"I didn't know Shelby for long, but if I knew one thing about her, it would be that she would never give up like that. You know that too."

"I…She…That was a mercy kill. I stopped her pain. It would be cruel to leave her suffering."

"Like we did to Mia?" I didn't respond. He took my pause as permission to continue. "And, speaking of cruelty, I saw what happened to Rachel. She was traumatized."

Though I was in complete darkness, I realized I was still gesturing wildly with my hands as I talked. "She tried to kill us. I was trying to protect them." I pointed in no direction in particular. "I had to protect them."

"Did you have to do it like that?"

"If it meant keeping them safe, then yes. I would do anything to protect the people I care about." Matt tried to speak, but I cut him off. "That's the difference between you and me. You don't have to care about anyone else. I do. There are people that depend on me, that I won't…I can't….let down. You have the luxury of being selfish sometimes. I don't. I'm never allowed to be selfish. I don't complain about it, but it won't ever leave me. Even now, there are people out there waiting for me to come home." I felt a tear dripping down my face, but I continued. "Do you know how afraid I am of the future? How much it hurts that I've failed people who depended on me in the past? No, you don't. So don't pretend that you do."

The light passed by us again.

"And, if anybody gets in the way of this, I will not hesitate for a moment to crush that person. I know you don't get it." I pointed behind me. "There was one person who actually depended on and trusted you, that poor girl. You sent Rose to kill—"

"How do you know about Rose?"

_Oh shit.__  
><em>  
>"Um," I stuttered. "They said it on the news report. Something about a murder. An Avox girl did it."<p>

Matt shook his head. "They never said her name. Nobody cared about her that much. How do you know about Rose?"

I could feel my cheeks get red. "I had to do it."

"Do what? What did you do to her?"

"I…I told the Capitol that she killed someone. I'm innocent." I paused. "Well, I'm not guilty. I told the truth," I said with a little more conviction."

"What's wrong with you? She was just some girl. She wasn't supposed to be part of this story."

"And, look who's talking! You sent her in there in the first place." I said defensively. Another wave of light passed over us.

"I know. I'm sorry. I was being selfish. I shouldn't have asked her to do that."

His honesty caught me by surprise. I assumed he was going to defend himself, or blame her, or at least deflected it. Instead, he seemed honestly sorry. "Well, maybe I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have acted without considering everyone else. I'm sorry."

We were quiet for a while after that. The lights kept coming, but other than that, nothing. Unlike before, this was a good nothing. It was like something released the tension in me. I felt relaxed for the first time since this whole thing started.

I was the one to finally break the silence. "Well, what now? We can't wait here forever." Though I said that, I didn't really have a want to leave either. Another wave of light flashed over us.

Matt scooted closer to me; this time I didn't recoil. "I've been thinking…"

I smiled. "Good. Matt has the ability to think." I laughed.

He tried to keep down a grin and continued. "Sabadosh said something about McAvoy, right?"

"Yeah, and?"

"Then, she said something about 'sending' and something about being 'safe', right?" He seemed excited.

"Yeah…"

"What if that airship we've been avoiding is actually McAvoy and Sabadosh trying to pick us up?"

I laughed. It seemed too perfect. "Come on. Don't be so naive. "

He excitedly grabbed my shoulder. "Think about it! They were fighting a war there. The Capitol wouldn't send vital airships just to kill us. If they really wanted to kill us they could carpet bomb the place."

"Unless, they wanted to kill us personally because they are vindictive jerks…which they are." I injected.

"Yeah…but here's something else that you don't understand. McAvoy is McAvoy."

I shrugged and grinned. "Oh tautology is really helpful."

"No really. He is my advisor. I would trust my life with that man. If there was anyone who could pull off something like this, it would be him."

I rolled my eyes. "Matt, you can't be serious. If we step out there and you're not right…"

"But, what if I am?"

"Matt…"

Matt looked me in the eyes and gave that certain smile that only he could give. "Katlyn, we've gone through the IB Program. We can both sit here and rot, or we could take a chance and hope there is something brighter out there." He waited for my reaction, but I refused to reveal anything on my face, so he continued. "If you think that the future is going to be bad, and you've already given up hope–if you truly think that–then you can stay here. But, if you think that the future is something brighter, then take this chance."

I brushed my hair from my eyes and smiled. "Fine." I wagged my finger in his face. "But, I'm only doing this because I'm trust you. If we die, you will have hell to pay." He laughed.

I let go of my fear and anger and turned to him. We both nodded and stepped out of the cover of the pine tree just as the wave of light passed by us.

It was so bright.


	33. Epilogue

Epilogue

-Sabadosh: 90 Days after the Hunger Games-

"Well?" I stared off into the lake below me, trying to not betray my anxiousness. All three of us had these meetings every week, but there wasn't much new information lately.

"Well, what?" McAvoy took another drink of whatever was in his glass.

"What happened to them? Any news?" Below me, I could see some kiddos enjoying the Saturday morning by the lake. They still had the joy of feeling completely free for the first time.

He took a long slip before answering. "Sabadosh, I've already told you. All the ships I sent there that night never reported back, but then again, neither did any of the ships the Capitol sent that night. We found numerous crash sites that didn't have any bodies in them, but that doesn't really mean anything."

"Okay then."

"Believe me, Andrea. If there were any indications that they were either alive or dead, I would tell you, but for now it's just a mystery we can't solve. We can only guess."

A weird, melancholic smile crossed my lips. I wasn't sure if I meant it or not. "So that's it. The ending of the last Hunger Games isn't even an ending at all? Do you think the viewers will be okay with that?"

McAvoy scoffed. "If people are going to be pissed about the ending to piece of fiction while there are actual problems in the real world, let them be."

I scowled. "Don't say that. If a person was personally involved or invested in the story, it mattered what the ending result was. It was important them, don't belittle that."

He shrugged. "Okay. I understand where you're coming from."

"McAvoy!" I turned to see three people: Nathan, Halle, and her sister Dani. I stayed back while they had their exchange.

Nathan walked up to McAvoy first. "Hey," he scratched the back of his head. "I wanted to tell you I'm going to be heading back to the Districts. There are a lot of puppies that need homes. I was nice working with you. I hope to see you again."

Nathan held out his hand, and McAvoy shook it. "Likewise. I glad you found something you wanted to do." Nathan turned left.

Next Halle and Dani came up to him. He smiled. "What? Are you leaving me too?"

Halle laughed. "Yeah, but before I go…McAvoy, I wanted to thank you for giving me the chance to rescue my sister." Dani added an additional thank you.

"I should be thanking you! I wasn't the one who fought her way through the Capitol prisons and not only rescued Dani, but everyone else as well."

Halle laughed nervously. "It was nothing really."

"Well, where you going, then?"

Halle seemed really excited. "The Capitol has so much food and tools I want to try out. Plus," She patted Dani. "Someone still needs to watch over my little sister."

Dani swatted Halle's hand away. "Halle, I'm only a few years younger than you."

They laughed, and at last, McAvoy said his final goodbyes.

Once the three of us were alone again, I continued our conversion. "McAvoy, what have you been doing lately?"

He swirled his drink around. "Well, as you can guess, there's not much need for a convert assassination group once the war is over. The thought of getting involved in all the politics going on sickens me, so my team and I have been sitting around, growing more bored with every day."

I might as well come out and say it then. "I've been thinking of giving the IB Program another try, and I wanted you to help me." They both looked at me like I was crazy. "It's not going to be what it was. It's something completely new."

McAvoy seemed relieved. "Well, I'm listening."

"There are so many young adults in this nation that are growing up with no education at all. And even more that are growing up in a nation of distrust, ignorance, and fear. Isn't there something we can do about it? That's where you come in, McAvoy. What do you think about becoming a teacher?"

He scratched his beard. "Sounds interesting. Count me in. I'll talk to everyone else. I'm sure they would love to have a roomful of people obligated to listen to their rants all day."

_There is hope. Even after all this. _I finally turned to the third person in our group, the one who had yet to say anything at all.

"And, what about you? Would you like to join the IB Program, Rose?"

Rose smiled and nodded.


End file.
